Poker Night Bets
by Herald of Light
Summary: A poker bet cracks Shinji's shell and connects him to the other pilots. But a bad choice of words sets Asuka against him and NERV. ReixShinjixAsuka. Those who can't stomach OOC to almost severe degrees...don't click.
1. Chapter 1

Herald: Okay! This is my first (well first published) attempt at Evangelion fan fiction! I saw a piece of art that inspired the first couple chapters, and I had a plot idea also running in my head at the time, so I smashed the two together, and voila! Here we are!

Like I said, this is the first published fan fic of mine for Evangelion. I have another version of this story already well written out, but it is very very mature, and I hope to focus more on the humor in this version and have this one be the published product. I may eventually publish the 'original' story later on, once I read into the limits of what is allowed here. Reviews are very much appreciated.

Rated T for Torture...well...you'll see...

* * *

It was a normal night, well, normal for post-second impact. The Children had gathered and had their poker night where they also talked about the Eva program. 

Ever since most of the people left the city, they had spent more time around each other more or less to keep each other sane, since for all intents and purposes they were alone in Tokyo-3.

"I'll raise." Shinji smirked as the chips fell onto the table, he had three aces, he had the best hand, yet Asuka had given her tell, she was dead silent. Rei on the other hand was a different story. A master of bluffing, she could have anything. This was what worried him the most. She had the most chips at the moment, and could easily cause them both to go all in.

"I call." Asuka threw hers in as well with less vigor than she had the time before. Sure she had four queens, but she figured that acting calm would throw them both off when she went all in the next round.

Rei looked at her two co-pilots and frowned. They both had good hands, she could tell. She had to play carefully, or did she?

"I'm all in." She calmly pushed all of her chips to the center of the table.

"I don't have nearly enough to call! What am I supposed to do?" Asuka and Shinji both shouted as this happened.

"Fine, then fold. Here's what we could do if you want to stay in. The pot means nothing to me. What we could do is that the person with the highest hand will have the other two be their slaves for a week." The offer was something Asuka couldn't resist, and Shinji was perturbed by what the meaning could be.

"Of course this would only be while we are in private, when we enter NERV we will be ourselves."

"Agreed. I'm in." Shinji pushed his chips in to signify his agreement. Asuka soon followed and threw her cards down to Shinji's crying. Asuka started to reach for the pot but Rei shoved a collar and her and stopped her.

"Royal Flush." She smiled as she looked down at her new slave, who looked good with the black shock collar and leash attached to it.

"Oh man, why did I have to lose to Wondergi—" Asuka stopped in mid-sentence as voltage entered her body.

"That's master to you. At least for the next week. Shinji."

"Yes ma'am?"

"Go back to my house and pick up enough clothing for me for the week. I will be sleeping in your bed." The once quiet and serene Rei had suddenly turned a new cheek and now had a look in her eye that would have scared Shinji normally, but he was too caught up at the last part of her statement. 'Rei will be sleeping with me?' Shinji thought as he went out the door. 'What have I gotten myself into?'

"Now Asuka, for the next week, if you can't say anything nice at all…"

"Oh shut up Wonder---" Rei shocked her by pressing a little button on Asuka's leash.

"Like I was saying if you can't say anything nice at all, shut your damn mouth and be a good girl, or else. Oh, and by the way, let's just say you'd better treat Shinji better also, or else I have a worse punishment that I could use." Rei looked right into Asuka's eyes as she said this, scaring the fire right out of the young German. She wasn't kidding. Was she?

"What about Misato? You can't exactly stay here without her knowing about it, right?"

Rei coughed as she pondered telling Asuka about the little "surprise" she had left Misato with. She had planned this week for a while now. Rei decided it would do no harm and motioned for Asuka to sit back up from her sprawled position after she had shocked her once more 'just for fun.'

"Address me properly. But you are right, normally Misato would never allow this to happen, but she's going to be otherwise disposed of for the next week." Rei envisioned the cruise that she had given her. She had even gone so far as to make sure that Kaji would be on the same cruise so as to keep her mind off them. If everything went as she planned, she would only need this one week.

* * *

"Misato! Fancy meeting you this evening." Kaji walked up behind Misato and goosed her on the butt, getting a squeal out of her as they both started to board the boat. 

"Kaji! You really don't have any manners, do you?" Misato gave him a slap across the face which really didn't have as much force as she normally would have. For some reason, it was actually nice to see the bum for once.

"It was really nice for Rei to give me that ticket for this cruise." Kaji said after they were below decks and the ship had left port.

It was then that Misato started to think that something was up, but she was soon overtaken with seasickness.

'Rei, what are you up to, you little brat?'

* * *

"Get me a tissue." Rei ordered as her nose began to tingle. Asuka, now more trained than before, got up and handed her a tissue from the table. "Good girl." Rei patted her on the head, eliciting a little growl from the otherwise loud mouth. Rei squinted over and as she sneezed held down the button given her an extended shock. 

'I don't know why, but I really love doing that.' Rei admitted to herself as she let go, leaving Asuka smoking on the floor.

"I'm back!" Shinji announced as the door closed behind him, he held a pair of suitcases which essentially contained all of Rei's possessions, since that was all he could find. He had even made sure to pack some of her medicine so that she wouldn't forget. He moved past the two, noticing the steaming look he got from Asuka and the odd look he got from Rei. 'Almost looks like a loving look….nah!' Shinji shook his head as he closed the door to his room.

"Come here Shinji, I wish to watch TV with you." Rei patted the couch beside her and Shinji sat down and immediately blushed as Rei leaned her head against his shoulder.

'Great…I have to sit here and be on a leash, but Shinji the Hero gets to sit by Wondergirl. Well I guess I get the better deal since I don't have to sleep with her.' Chuckling she closed her eyes and leaned against the couch, hoping to have time to recover from the shocks.

"Asuka, if you wish, you may retire to your bed." Rei unhooked the leash as Asuka got up and looked around to take in the scene.

"Shinji, don't go feeling her up, you pervert." Asuka said as she went to her room and closed her door.

"sigh What did I tell you about Shinji, Asuka?" Rei brought up her small remote and pressed the first button on it, sending a signal to Asuka's collar. There was a yelp from her room, then silence.

"What was that all about?" Shinji looked to Rei with a scared look in his face.

"Nothing you should worry about. If Asuka gives you any crap like that, I order you to tell me."

"Okay, for the next week, right?"

"Nope, that one lasts from here on out." Rei smiled and Shinji passed out from his lack of disbelief at what was going on.

"Yep, things are going to be nice." Rei felt good about finally getting to let her emotions out. She got up and went to check that Shinji had gotten everything she had needed.

Panties. School uniforms. Everything she needed seemed to be there, then upon the second suitcase she angered to see the red and white pills. They were emotional inhibitors, which she hadn't taken for almost a month now. She took them and flushed them down the toilet.

"Rei, what happened?" Shinji stumbled toward the restroom as she came out, still slightly in shock.

"Don't worry about it Shinji, you did a good job. Let's go to bed." Rei went to his side and took his arm as Shinji mumbled something about car wrecks and Misato's drinking habits.

* * *

Herald: Hmm, Rei without the pills? Should be interesting, eh? 

OMAKE (Another first for me!)

"Fine, then fold. Here's what we could do if you want to stay in. The pot means nothing to me. What we could do is that the person with the highest hand will have the other two be their slaves for a week." The offer was something Asuka couldn't resist, and Shinji was perturbed by what the meaning could be.

"Agreed. I'm in." Shinji pushed his chips in to signify his agreement. Asuka soon followed and threw her cards down to Shinji's crying. Asuka started to reach for the pot but Shinji shoved a collar and her and stopped her.

"Royal Flush! Let's see you call me a pervert now biatch! Thanks Rei for the nifty shock collars!"

"Collars?" Rei's face shot up just in time to see Shinji put one around her neck as well. "This was not in the scenario."


	2. Chapter 2

"ZAP!" Asuka jumped in the air after having just commented on Shinji's condition the next morning. "That's it I'm not playing this game anymore!" She reached up and tried to fiddle with the collar's latch to set herself free.

"I wouldn't do that…" Rei chimed warningly. Seconds later Asuka felt an even stronger jolt than had been delievered before.

"When do the batteries run out on this thing!?" Asuka was finally at her wits end and was going to do anything to get the 'punishment' to stop.

"About ten years. It's a nuclear battery. Fresh from the experimental ward of NERV." Rei hit the second button on her remote and Asuka jumped up in the air once again. 'I really enjoy doing that.' Rei smiled to herself as Shinji came back from the kitchen with her breakfast.

"Here you go Rei, Asuka." Shinji left the room to go get his own plate as Asuka got up off the ground and looked hungrily at the food. She hadn't eaten since yesterday morning and her body had finally reminded her of this deficiency. Right before her fork hit the plate it was swooped away by Rei and was soon devoured by her.

"More please!" Rei yelled as Shinji came out of the kitchen with his own plate to see the fuming Asuka and the begging Rei. Shinji sighed as he laid his own plate in front of Rei and grabbed Asuka's hand so that he could get her some food before she tried to strangle Rei, shock collar or not.

"I can't believe the nerve of that girl!" Asuka fumed quietly as Shinji made another plate and handed it to her. There was enough for one more serving, so he put it on a plate and set it before his 'master.'

"Where's yours?" Rei asked as she marveled at just how good this boy's cooking was. If she wasn't careful, she wouldn't have room for lunch when the time arrived. 'Or desert later on, he he.' Rei smirked to herself.

"Um, you ate everything, so I'm just going to get a bowl of cereal or some pop tarts or something…If that's ok?"

"Of course Shinji, you don't need to worry about things like that, if you need to eat, eat! Don't tell me that I ate yours as well?"

"Yeah you did. But don't worry, I'm used to it with Misato and Asuka around, let alone Pen-Pen." He shot out the last name in disgust as he remembered all the meals that that little beast had stolen from him. "Not that I care, but where is he anyway?"

"I wonder…" Rei said thoughtfully as she thumbed the remote and soon heard the sound of a plate crashing in the other room. "Ah, what a wonderful sound."

"Rei, I think you use that way too much." Shinji finally blurted out as he saw Asuka start to crawl out of the kitchen and slowly make her way to her room.

"So what? I'm being nice compared to all the times she berated you, or called me Wondergirl despite how much I told her to stop. If I had my way, she'd be in a lot more pain constantly." Her mind flashed to a room with Asuka in chains and various methods of torture being performed on her. The evil smile that appeared on her face scared Shinji dead white.

"Still, it isn't nice. Maybe you should let her go for a little while so she can recooperate."

"Shinji, you need to learn to grow some backbone! The next time she gives you crap, you either say something back at her or else."

"Or else what?" Before he finished the phrase his neck was bound in one of the collars. "Oh man…" He hung his head down low in defeat as Rei pulled him back to the table and sat him down.

"Now what do you want to eat?" Rei asked politely as Shinji was fingering his collar, trying in vain to adjust it so it fit better.

"Um…I'm okay really. I –" Shinji jumped as he was shocked for the first time.

"I didn't ask if you were hungry, I asked you what you wanted to eat. I cannot promise that it will be as good as your cooking," Rei's mouth watered at the thought of Shinji's cooking. "but I want to repay you for having eaten your share."

"Um," Shinji wasn't used to being waited on in any way. "I'd like some eggs, scrambled. Three of them I think would be just right."

"Very well. I'll be back with your food in a minute, husband." Rei's thoughts slipped through her mouth and she quickly retreated hoping he hadn't caught her.

"Shinji, could you come here?" Asuka had peeked out of her room and motioned for him to come over. Not having anything else on his mind, he did so.

"What's wrong Asuka? Don't tell me Rei shocked you again?"

"No, you id…, no." Asuka looked around, making sure Rei wasn't within earshot. "I just don't like being treated this way. I don't mind being a 'slave' for a week, since it was a poker bet and I lost fair and square, but…" She tugged at her collar, receiving a small buzz from it. "this is not what I signed up for."

"Asuka, don't worry about it. I've got one too now, and besides, Rei has been acting more…."

"Human?"

"Yeah. Honestly I like the change, and if getting a few shocks is the cost for her to be able to express herself more and not be—"

"A doll?"

"…Exactly. I'd do this for a month if need be."

"Shinji, you really are a nice guy, for a pervert."

"Thanks…I think. Just keep in mind Asuka that we are really all we have right now. I mean sure we have Misato…well sorta…to look after us, but Rei doesn't even have that. I've been wondering if maybe we could ask Misato if she could move in with us because of this."

"Really? So that's why you've been inviting her over so much lately." Asuka laughed. "And here I thought you were trying to get in her pants."

"If that's the ultimate turnout of things, then so be it. I just don't like the fact that we don't know anything about her. I mean we put our lives on the line all the time for the world, and once were done, we are pretty much left on our own. And I'll say there are times when just having you around isn't enough…"

"What?" Asuka was shocked at Shinji's sudden bashing.

"It's just that sure you are ok to be around and all, but with all the hard times you give me, I get tired of it. There have been times when I wanted to slap you and call you bad names, but I haven't because I've got morals that I stick to, unlike my father…"

Asuka could only sit in shock as Shinji got up and went back to the table as Rei had just called from the kitchen that she would be done shortly.

'He's held back all of that anger all this time because of his morals? He's stronger than I thought.' Asuka went to the table and stood behind Shinji and began to massage his shoulders. "I'm sorry for everything, you baka." She said softly.

Shinji was shocked. No one ever did anything like this for him. He relished at this and soon was about to fall back asleep as Rei came back into the room.

"Ahem."

Asuka shrieked as Rei came towards her. At that point she had been massaging Shinji's neck, but anyone else would have guessed that she was choking poor Shinji.

"What is going on?" Rei inquiried as she sat Shinji's plate in front of him.

"We had a talk, and we are cool now." Shinji looked up at Asuka and smiled. "She was just doing this to help apologize."

Rei went and stood nose to nose with Asuka and stared deep into her eyes. "Is this true?"

"Of course it is!"

"Then good." Rei smiled brightly.

"What are we going to do today Rei?" Shinji had just finished his eggs and was now cleaning the table.

"Hmm…" Several thoughts crossed Rei's mind, ranging from the innocent to the downright evil. "How about we go out to the mall for some shopping? There still should be one left after the last angel."

"Hey yeah! But…" Shinji's hand pointed to Asuka's shock collar. "What are going to do about these?"

"What are you going to say…? You should say that it's official NERV business and its top secret." Everyone that was left in Tokyo-3 knew the three kids and rarely even questioned what they did, so it hadn't crossed Rei's mind.

"Well, lets get dressed and get going then!" Asuka cheered and ran to her room.

"Yeah, we'd better get dressed Rei, its almost ten." Shinji had just come back from the kitchen and moved to his room.

"Shinji, wait."

"What Re—" Suddenly he found himself lip to lip with the First Child. It felt like an eternity before they parted, and Shinji found himself hardly able to stand.

"Stay close to me today, I don't want to have to put you on a leash." Rei smirked as she left Shinji standing by the table, leaning on it for support.

* * *

"Misato, you wouldn't believe me even if I had a picture…" 

"Kaji, get off!"

"Wark!?"

"Pen-Pen!? What are you doing there?"

* * *

Herald: Okay folks, that's all for right now. I'll post more as time goes on, but with college classes and things like that, I'm going to get pretty busy pretty quick, so you might want to hope that my sister pushes me really hard (she's my number one fan), lol. 

OMAKE

"WOULD YOU TWO PLEASE KEEP IT DOWN IN THERE! I'M TRYING TO GET SOME SLEEP!" Asuka's voce carried through to Shinji's room, where he and Rei were laying down alongside each other.

"B4?"

"YOU SUNK MY BATTLESHIP!"

"That's it Shinji! Shock collar or not...here I come!"

Shinji looked in shock. "Rei?"

"Don't look to me for help...you sunk my battleship...which wasn't in the scenario."

"I bet me being killed isn't..." Asuka chose this moment to slam his door open.

"Hello..." She cracked her knuckles.

"This isn't going to hurt...is it?"

"Nope." Shinji let out a breath. "Not going to hurt Rei one bit." Only one word came to Shinji's mind.

"Mommy."


	3. Chapter 3

Herald of Light: Sorry folks for the delay. Classes this week have been...a drag. Anyway, chapters 3-5 are what I have been working on in what little free time I've had, so here they are.

A special shout out goes to Wandering Ficreader. Thanks to them the last half of four and all of five goes to them. You'll see in four what I mean if you didn't catch it in the review.

* * *

The ship had been at sea for only a day and a storm had popped up around it. Misato was locked in her room trying to stave off seasickness as Kaji tried in vain to keep the warm-water penguin from jumping into the ocean. 

"Come on you little rat! Get back here! I've got tuna!" Kaji, in a bright orange raincoat, chased after the penguin as the ship tossed and turned. Pen-Pen was completely oblivious and just kept walking along the deck.

"All passengers must report below decks, the worst of the storm is dead ahead and we can't turn out of it. I repeat, all passengers need to head belo—" A lightning bolt hit the PA speaker, melting it.

"Wark?" At the sight of lightning, the stubborn penguin dashed for the nearest hatch and was soon below decks, Kaji tried to follow just to fall down the last three stairs as the ship was broadsided by a wall of water.

"You stupid little…" Kaji managed to get out before he faded into the dream world.

"Wouldn't this one be a better fit?" Rei held the bra up to herself as she stood in front of the mirror. Shinji had long given up trying to hide the effects of the last hour in the Victoria's Secret had on him and was sitting on a bench nearby, half-listening to what Rei and Asuka were talking about.

'Hardly seems like this is such a bad thing after all. I mean Asuka is being nicer to me, and Rei is being more outgoing.' His mind flashed back to the kiss right before she had changed. 'And me, I get to sleep in the same bed with her and I got a kiss. Not to mention that the eggs she made were almost better than mine.' That was one point of pride he held, he could out cook just about anyone he had ever met. It was the one real thing that he excelled at. Sure he was a good cello player, but that had been through hard work. He was just a naturally superb cook. Despite this, he wasn't above giving props when they were due, and Rei had potential.

"Well Shinji is sitting right there, why don't you ask the pervert what he likes?" Asuka had forgotten about things and had gone and pressed the wrong button. She was soon lying in a smoking heap on the floor.

"Shinji, would you come here?" Rei asked and pulled his hand as she led him into one of the dressing rooms. "I need your opinion on which looks better. Please turn around while I change into the first one." Shinji did so and started to think about what things could happen in the rest of the week.

The image that came to mind was one where Rei was dressed in little more than a black tank top and a short black miniskirt with black boots and long black gloves, and Asuka in only a little less but what there was being a red that matched her hair. A leash led from Rei's hand down to Asuka's neck and Rei's foot was planted firmly in Asuka's back. Shinji couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, even if it was mean.

"Do you think this bra looks funny?" Rei turned Shinji around and soon had the remote in her hand. Shinji gulped and shook his head.

"NO! I just had a funny image in my head was all." He then noticed that standing in front of him was a girl in just her underwear and he was alone with her.

* * *

'Shall we go to Phase 2?' Within Shinji's brain chemical reactions picked up their pace as it tried to decide what was going on. Eventually the body instinctively pumped blood back to the point where he was now with a bulge in his pants. 'Go back down! Go back down!' Shinji mentally started to envision anything that could stop the monster and get it to go back to sleep….but failed.

* * *

"Hmm…I'll take that as a yes." Rei mewed seductively at Shinji as she moved closer to him. His eyes bulged at the sight and he tried frantically to get himself to calm down, but soon she was only inches from him, and she was looking into his eyes.

"Do you like me?"

"Y-Yes."

"Why?"

"Well, you are k-kind, considerate; you've put Asuka in her place." Shinji tried to think of more but there was too little blood in his brain at the moment to think at the pace needed.

"Is that all?" Rei stepped back a little, with a pouting look.

Shinji was feeling terror and heat. Yes, he really liked her, and he thought that both her and Asuka were hot, but to be put on the spot like this was overloading this poor 14 year old's brain.

"Rei? Are you back here?" Asuka opened the door slightly, being rewarded with Shinji falling back onto her.

"Umph! Shinji get off! What are you doing anyway?" Asuka shoved the boy off of her and stood up and looked right at Rei. "No wonder Shinji was leaning against the door, you look hot! What were you doing, coming on to him?"

"Yes, I was." Rei calmly changed back into her own clothes, "and if it hadn't been for you, I would have gotten more of a response from him." She brought up the remote and thought about shocking her, but after a second decided that it was going to be hard enough to carry the passed out Shinji with Asuka's help, let alone try to carry both of them.

"Rei…" Asuka was at a loss. For the second time today she was stymied by what was going on.

"Help me with Shinji, we need to get going." Rei picked up her basket of items and took one of his arms, Asuka did the same.

"Is he alright?" The clerk asked as the two girls approached the check-out line.

They looked at each other and giggled. "Yeah. We just tortured him too much with our trying on of things." Asuka said in between giggles.

"That's right, he got an eyeful." Rei sat Shinji against the counter and pulled out her NERV credit card. "Asuka, I just thought of a wonderfully evil idea that we could pull on Shinji…"

"Oh? Please tell me!" Asuka leaned into Rei as she was told the plan. "This is good. Mein Gott! I didn't know you were this evil Rei!" She shoved Rei lightly and pulled out her card as her items were rung up.

"A state of emergency has been declared. All civilians please report to your shelters. Evangelion pilots report to HQ immediately!" Everyone looked up as the announcement blared.

"Oh man…and Shinji's still out, what are we going to do?"

"I can fix that." Rei walked over and slapped the still unconscious boy. "Shinji, you need to wake up." She took his face into her hands and pressed her lips to his. Shinji's eyes exploded open as soon as it happened, and he started blushing bright red

"And I thought Shinji was the pervert…" Asuka picked up her bags and picked up Shinji to his feet. "Come on pervert, there's an attack underway."

"Remind me to shock her good later so you and I can have some time alone with you." Rei whispered in his ear as Asuka ran ahead of them. Shinji could only nod as his body tried to respond to the shock of having both an angel attack and to waking up to kissing Rei all within a few seconds. He was soon running full speed with Rei close at hand.

* * *

"What is the status of the Eva units?"

"All units are on standby awaiting their pilots."

"And their locations?"

"I just got off the phone with Shinji and they are all about two minutes out. They are already taking every shortcut they can and using the direct emergency routes that we made after our experience with the Ninth Angel."

"Proceed."

* * *

All three of them collapsed to the floor of the elevator and tried to catch their breaths as it took them direct to the EVA cages. Shinji dug into his backpack and took out his plug suit and started to get changed.

"What are you doing Third!?" Asuka looked terrified as she tried to avert her eyes from the now naked Shinji.

"I started carrying it around so I could be ready when I got down there. It's so I could buy you two some time." Shinji finished changing and pressed down on his wrist making the suit pressurize and start calibrating his neural activities.

"Great, our hero Shinji. Why did you have to change right in front of us?"

"Well, lets see….because one, I'm actually going to stop listening to your berating for once. Two, I want to stop the angels as quickly as possible so fewer people get hurt, hopefully none. Third…"

"I get it…you want to be the hero."

"No, that isn't it. Third, I don't want either of you to be hurt."

Both girls sat in silence at the boy. Rei finally asked the question on both of their minds. "Why?"

Shinji collapsed back to the floor. His mind was racing. He hadn't wanted that to get out, that was one of the few things he had figured out only recently and still needed to get used to himself. "Because, I love both of you, I think."

"You think? You don't just say that you think you love someone!"

"Asuka, shut up!" Shinji now had a determined look on his face. He was going to be understood, no matter what it took. "Its taken me this long to even admit that I have that capability anymore, let alone try to sort it out as to who and why. I know that we are all misfits, but for most of my life the word love has been one that was used without understanding. I say it now because I both understand it and feel it. I'm still confused as to the finer details, but I do know that I care greatly for both of you, and you each hold a special place in my heart!" Shinji's face fell down as his shield was now completely down and he was open to whatever came next. "Father, I hate. You and Rei, I love. Misato I trust, but I don't quite love at the same level that I do you two." Shinji sat there, quietly listing to himself the names of people and soon was quiet.

"Shinji…" Rei moved over quietly and took one of his hands, and motioned for Asuka to do the same. Asuka shook her head and was still confused herself at both the sudden expression and his defiance. Rei finally brought out the remote and pointed it right at her. Asuka finally sighed and took Shinji's other hand.

"Listen you baka." She finally broke him out of his trance and he looked at her with a sullen look that somehow made Asuka feel sad deep down. "We appreciate that you care for us. And speaking for myself, you two feel like the first real family I've had in ages. Sure Misato is always drunk, and you are always being perverted, but" She chuckled softly. "but we are family, right?" Shinji just nodded and looked at her with that caring look that could ease even her worst PMS-induced anger.

"Shinji. I love you too, and I understand what you mean about not understanding love. I…I want to talk with the both of you later, if that's ok?"

The elevator reached the bottom and opened to the sight of the three children hugging each other tightly.

"We need to go…" Shinji didn't want to let go, neither did the other two, but they soon did and separated. Shinji went to Unit 01. Rei and Asuka to the small locker room nearby.

"Don't get yourself killed…love." Asuka said softly as she saw him take the small lift up to his entry plug.

* * *

Herald: Aw...I didn't really want to end all lovey dovey...and I'm sure that this will get me thrown out of that one C2 or whatever it is that this story was added to, but I just felt that its more interesting to have both Rei and Asuka confused over Shinji, and Shinji confused over both of them. It could go either which way, well...except for Rei x Asuka...I just dont' write that. But seeing as this chapter was written not too long after I posted...and just hadn't been put through my final processing (re-reading...something akin to proofreading, etc.) I'm going to stick with my original parts as far as I can. 

I also want to take a moment to say that a lot of the OOC moments are because I've been watching the show, and the movies (EoE is just down right wrong at the end...), and a lot of things have just been my thoughts as I have been doing this. Rei needed to be more emotional, Asuka needed to be put in her place, and Shinji...shakes head he just needed a complete spine transplant...so I'm writing a bit of myself when I was 14 in. Oddly his life and mine have a lot of similarities...just without the whole...eva...angel...part...

Anywho...enjoy the next chapters and I will talk to everyone again in a bit!


	4. Chapter 4

"Rei…what do we do now?" Asuka was trying to hurry with her plug suit, but the events of the elevator were dominating her thoughts.

"I don't know. If Shinji loves both of us in the same manner, I don't know what to do. For now though, it may be best to focus on the enemy. We will have time afterwards to talk about where to go."

"You've already kissed him, haven't you?" Asuka said with a defeated tone that made Rei slightly regret shocking her so many times.

"…I have."

"Then I lost him…things won't be the same again."

"No, they won't. They will be better."

"How's that supposed to be? You already have more of him than I do."

"Shinji didn't say that he loved me more than you, despite me having kissed him twice. There may be room in his heart for both of us. I know that in the last month that we have been spending together, that I've grown fond of you as well."

"WHAT!? Don't tell me you have the hots for me?"

"I-its not like that!" Rei blushed brightly at the accusation. " A friend is someone that makes an imprint on your life that you will miss if it were suddenly taken away. You and Shinji…I would miss both of you. I consider you my best friend though."

"You do? Despite all that I've called you?" Rei's response was a simple nod as she got up and pressurized her suit. "Then what has the last day been with the shock collar!?"

"A poker bet that you lost. My friend." Rei smiled her soft smile and walked first out of the locker room.

"Room for both of us huh? Better than being thrown out on the street…" Asuka told the picture of herself when she was younger at one of her better moments holding up a trophy. "Maybe I can help you yet, you poor kid." She closed the door and went out to get into her EVA.

* * *

"If you are going to be slow getting here, then don't bother coming at all!" All three pilots noticeably cringed. The alert had been nothing more than a drill, and now they were getting chewed out for being 10 seconds slow.

"I will say that the Third Child's idea of carrying his plug suit with him, despite it being against regulations, is intriguing. You will all be doing this from now on. Dismissed."

As they waked out of the door, his father called out. "Pilot Ikari, remain here." Shinji didn't want to be there, the room was freezing, not to mention the emotional void between the two Ikaris.

"What is the meaning of the…unusual necklace?"

"Um…A-Asuka, Rei, and I were all playing poker. Rei upped the ante with a bet that the winner would have the other two be 'slaves' for a week. This was the first thing she did."

'You've got to be kidding me….Rei did that?' The commander shuffled in his seat, but his hands remained in the same position in front of his face. "And who won?"

"Rei. It was kinda funny actually. Asuka thought she had won, and then…boom Royal Flush." Despite the fear in his heart, Shinji tried to at least reach out to his father, his only living relative.

Commander Ikari chuckled lightly. "I bet it must have been a sight, Shinji." He saw his son's face flush and then saw him fall onto the floor. "What did I do this time?"

"I wouldn't know, but….you haven't moved your hands in the last three hours, are they…"

"Yes…they are frozen again. We really need to get that thermostat fixed. You'd think that we could---"

"Fit that into the scenario?" The old man chuckled as he leaned over and pushed the button on the intercom and called for some warm water to be brought in. "It would be nice not to have my shoes freeze to the floor when I'm in here."

"We'd better get Shinji a stretcher and get him out."

"Hmm…yeah. Why'd you do that?"

"What?"

"Call him by his name after all this time."

"…Cold must be getting to me."

"If that's what you must call it. I'll just call those two back in and have them carry him out." Fuyutski pointed to the monitor showing the camera view from just outside the door which had the female pilots pacing in front of it like expecting fathers.

They had to stifle laughter as the girls came in and Shinji was dragged out.

"You do know they looked like they were smoking…"

"Like smokestacks…"

"And…"

They couldn't help it anymore and began laughing in earnest, much to Gendo Ikari's regret when he tore his hands off his face, along with it, a couple layers of skin.

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!"

* * *

"Ah, nice sunny day. Now if only…" Misato's eyes wondered as she looked that men that walked around. 'Hmm…I wonder if he's single?' She had a guy at the bar in her crosshairs who was talking to the bartender.

"Wark!?"

"What are you doing on deck? Whoa…there's something you don't see everyday." Misato chuckled as the penguin had taken the seat next to her and pulled out a reflector and lay down to sunbathe.

She brought her eyes back to the bar, halfway eyeing the guy and also wondering as to what varieties of liquor were held there. That was when he started to turn around.

'This is it…I hope he's a hunk!' Misato silently moved forward, almost looking like a hunter readying for the kill.

It was Kaji. "Oh damn it!" Misato plunged forward and was soon laying on the deck crying. 'Just my luck…set my sights on one guy…and he's a pervert.'

Kaji came over with two drinks and set them on the table, then looked down at Misato. "I take it that the pretty lady is trying to get a peek?" If there was one person in the world that could give her as hard a time as she gave Shinji, it was this man. She scrambled for her deck chair and soon had chugged both drinks to help hide her embarrassed blushing. "I'll take that as a yes." Kaji sat on the other side of the table and started staring out towards the sea.

"Not that I really…care. But is something wrong?" She had recovered and was fanning herself now to cool down.

"I don't know. I don't think anything is wrong, just something isn't right." He reached over and took her free hand. "I just want to hold your hand, nothing more." His voice pleaded with her and she didn't pull away.

"What was with you? You fell right on top of me and passed out yesterday."

"That little…" Kaji pointed towards a penguin who now really felt endangered. "I was chasing him for you and well…he dived into the hatch and as I went after him the boat heaved, sending me right into you Misato."

"Oh really? Is that the truth Pen-Pen?"

The penguin looked slowly up at his master, then slowly shook his head.

"Hmm…and here I thought that someone was stalking me…oh well. I suppose I'll let you off with a warning this time. Besides…"

"Feeling a little lonely?"

"Yeah… I mean wait!"

"Its okay, I'll let you in on a secret: I was getting lonely also.

* * *

(A/N: Thanks for pointing out my 'mistake' in the first chapter! You know how you are!)

"You know what Rei? I've been thinking. Someone had to be cheating last night."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I had four queens, and you had a royal flush! Not possible with a normal deck."

"Does it really matter now that you gave up the 'pot'?" Rei wanted to end the conversation quickly, sighing inside at the fact it had taken this long for the redhead to figure this out.

"YOU CHEATED DIDN'T YOU!?"

"I did not. Shinji was the one that dealt the cards all night, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Hey baka!" Asuka leaned down and pulled him to her lips, waking him up with an understandable start. She figured that was the least she could get back since she had dragged his butt home. "Were you stacking the deck last night?"

"U-Um….." Shinji looked around. He didn't know what was going on at this point. His father had called him Shinji, then he fainted, Asuka kissed him awake, and now he was laying on the couch and being accused of cheating. "I don't think I did…"

"You think you didn't! What kind of answer is that!"

"Well….Rei brought the cards over…all I did was shuffle them."

"Passing the buck eh? Well I'll make sure you can't get away!" She sat on his chest and stared back at Rei. "What's your take now?"

"I think you had better do two things. One, remember your place as my slave for the next six days." She pulled out her remote. "And two, get off of Shinji…you're smothering him."

"Air….air…." Asuka finally heard Shinji's cries for the precious gas and was soon off of him.

"Asuka….I knew you liked taking people's….breath away, but…that's just down right mean." Despite having just been given a reprieve, he was already making fun of Asuka, and was being 'rewarded' by being choked.

Rei chuckled. "Well, only one way to settle this." She pressed both buttons. "Snuggle." She moved in close to Shinji and soon fell asleep.

A few moments later, pictures were taken of the cute trio and mass emailed with the words "Look at the happy…newlyweds?"

To say that Gendo Ikari was amused, was an understatement.

"Milk is for drinking…not for coming out of your nose…"

"I am so glad I had that hidden camera installed."

* * *

"Mmm…" Shinji awoke to find that he had two girls leaning on him, pinning him down. "Oh man…" He sat there rethinking things. It was evident now to him that the deck had been stacked, and he saw an opportunity to take advantage. Yes it was against his character, but….the evil thought in his brain was forming into a plan and he was now smirking.

"What is it Shinji? Want a kiss?" Rei looked up at him while rubbing the sleep from her own eyes.

"Oh…nothing. And not really. I would like to talk to both you and Asuka on this whole cheating thing. I think I have a way we can settle it once and for all with something we are all good at."

"What is that?"

"Piloting." The bait was set, and Shinji couldn't wait to let his secret to him being able to pilot the Evangelion so well.

That, and his secret nickname that only Kensuke knew about: The Demon Lord of Asia.


	5. Chapter 5

Herald: Ok. I want to take a moment and say that I don't own the game series that they play on. Although I wish that this would actually be a game in many ways.

Also if you don't understand some of the terms during the battle, or planes, Wikipedia is a pretty good place to look.

* * *

"What the heck is this? This isn't piloting, this is a freaking arcade!" Asuka had blindly agreed to the bet, which was for the same as the poker bet made just two nights before. 

"No. Our places to pilot are inside the arcade baka Asuka." Shinji smirked as he pulled a leather jacket from his backpack and led the way in. "Now let's see…. ah…there we are." He pointed to a side by side game in the back of the room.

"Ace Combat 9: Shattered Souls? What kind of game is that?" Rei was confused, but tried to understand what was going on, since she would have to defend her position as Master. Unless she wasn't able to keep up with these two.

"It's a fighter pilot game. Each player chooses a plane, then they fight each other until one is defeated. The controls are actually very similar to our Eva's, just that this is a video game, and you don't have to wear those neural clips. So what are you, chicken?" Shinji's new found confidence was scaring Rei, and Asuka was not happy with it either.

Asuka was confident she would crush him though, since she had won the European contest in the game, remembering the trophy she had back in a box in her room she snickered. 'Like fish in a barrel…'

"Is something funny?" Rei poked her, bringing Asuka out of her good ol' days of 'fighting' against the local fighter aces, and beating every one.

"Oh no…this sounds like a great way to settle our differences." 'In my favor…' Images of her being the one with the remote to the shock collar started dancing in her head. 'Oh Shinji……clickfry' These images caused her grin to expand even further.

Shinji was now walking back with his change, wearing the leather jacket. "One more time, we are all sure on this, right?"

Rei and Asuka both nodded.

"Good. Okay guys, you can come out and watch!" From out of nowhere at least fifty guys flooded into the room, threatening to crush the two girls. Shinji had told Kensuke of the impending 'battle' and he had sent a couple email messages. "And just so we can't back out, we will have witnesses to the battles." He pointed to them. "And Asuka, I know your title as the European Union's Ace Combat Champion, let me in on a little secret: How does it feel knowing you are about to face off against the Demon Lord of Asia?"

Asuka immediately paled. 'No way it could be this wimp…could it?' She gulped. She knew that she was better than him, even though he had held that title for four years now. Few had seen his face, and his name never seemed to be published. "Y-You're just saying that! The Demon Lord can't be you! You would have had to be ten to win that title, and there were plenty of actual air force aces in that contest!"

"Oh really? Then tell me why I have this one of a kind jacket?" Shinji turned around, showing his back to her and Rei. It had a picture of the globe (with Asia in its center) with a pair of demonic hands surrounding it. The eyes were what made Asuka realize that it had to be him. It had four of them, each being a single winner's badge that had to be won by becoming the Demon Lord. The competition was fierce every year, and people from all over Asia played it, but one person kept winning.

"Prove it then!"

"Okay, Rei, you want to go first?"

"No, I have never played this game before, and I would like to get to know how to use it first. Is there another one?" She was soon led off with a stack of tokens to another machine.

"Well, I guess then I will have to. This shouldn't take long." Shinji sat down and started putting in his tokens, while Asuka soon did the same.

On the screen above them (cause this place was cool and had a challenge area set up with a big screen displaying the battle from both perspectives), it showed what each person was looking at, which right now as the plane selection screen. Only those outside were seeing what they were choosing. Shinji went with a classic, an F-14D Super Tomcat with a special painting that only he knew the code to. 'Ah the perks of being Demon Lord…' Shinji thought to himself as he sat back and waited.

On the other hand, everyone saw that Asuka was having trouble deciding. 'If I go with the F-22, I'll have stealth, but that isn't very practical when we are going to be limited in our range so that we could see each other. The Su-47 has the super-accurate missile, but I know this is going to be a knife fight, so I'm going to go with this one.'

Outside everyone stared in awe as she had unlocked her own special plane, a specially painted Eurofighter Typhoon II. This was the plane that had the new point laser system on it.

"Don't go choosing that piece of European trash Typhoon Asuka." Shinji said over the headset just after she made her selection.

'What does he mean by that? I'll show him.' "You should worry Shinji. Germany was the first country to ever fly a jet in combat!"

* * *

Rei was getting used to the game. Like Shinji had said, it was similar to piloting an Eva. 

Her opponent was merely a computer AI, not even a good one at that. She then realized that the game had been put into its easy mode, and that she would need to be capable of flying and fighting in the hardest mode if she was going to retain her place as Master.

"I must complete my scenario."

* * *

'She's good. I haven't had a fight last two minutes in a long time. But then again...I haven't 'flown' since I came to Tokyo-3...' Shinji brought his control stick back and tilted the plane towards the sun, blinding him, but that was soon fixed as he completed his Immelman's Turn and was now above and traveling away from Asuka. He needed to get some space between them. 'Its been forever since I used this tactic. Let's see how she likes this.' "Hey Asuka, I fart in your general direction." (A/N: Completely like the scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.) He selected the special weapons, did a reverse Immelman Turn and fired two of them once he locked on. 

"Oh, someone wants to play?" Asuka turned her plane around to fly right towards the long range missiles that the F-14 was designed to carry and brought her own special weapon up, targeted, and fired two shots of her own.

"I thought I told you not to pick the Typhoon Asuka?" Shinji came up from below her and strafed her plane's underbelly. The damage was moderate, and didn't hinder her plane's performance, but still the fact was that he had just used his special weapons as decoys as he terrain masked at full speed. Only a few pilots would risk such a maneuver, and only one had pulled it off, and that had been in this game, the Demon Lord.

"If you are such a great pilot, then why didn't you take me out?"

"Oh come on, I don't get a chance to play on this level everyday you know? You are the first real challenge I've had since my third tournament!" Shinji moved to where he was flying beside her, their momentary truce being agreed to without saying anything. "Besides, I'm going easy on you. I could have shot you down ten times already. Not to mention what I could have done with my missiles." He banked and made a turn away from Asuka, who was now in shock.

'He's going easy on me? Is he really that good?' Asuka looked up and with more determination in her voice than she meant stated, "Alright Shinji, Here I come!"

"Sounds like that time you kissed me out of boredom. What, you want a kiss?" 'I'm having way too much fun with this…she'll probably fix me after this is over, in the simple non-surgical, no anesthetic way too…' He was now 15,000 yards out from her, according to his radar, so he made his turn back in and fell down to the ground, using it to mask his movement from the high-tech machine above him.

"Why you little!" Asuka pitched her plane down and hit the afterburner gaining precious speed. "Hey! Where'd you go?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Come out you little punk so I can blast you!" Asuka wanted to show her supremacy and reversed her plane so that when she looked 'up' she was actually looking at the ground. This was because she had to use her eyes to sight Shinji's F-14 since the narrow canyon was blocking her radar readings. 'I know what I can do…' Asuka brought up the laser system again, and dumb fired it along the canyon. 'Come on….fry…..or come out…"

"Asuka Asuka Asuka." Shinji clicked his tongue. "What did I tell you about that laser?" From behind her he fired a missile, which Asuka was barely able to avoid.

"How the hell do you keep doing that bird boy?"

"Oh now, come on, the Demon Lord must keep his trade secrets a secret." Shinji chuckled as he flew under Asuka and looked up at her plane, which was still upside down. "Ok, how about this. Let's play follow the leader, I'll lead." Shinji put dipped and turned on his afterburners.

'What? That idiot! He's leaving himself wide open!' Asuka thought to herself as she dived after him and corrected her plane. 'This is going to be…….easy?' She checked her altimeter, which read that the ground was coming up way too fast. Shinji wasn't stopping! Was he going to crash? Asuka's brain began to calculate when the last possible second would be for her and Shinji to pull up. She also tried to line up a missile shot, but Shinji kept bouncing around just enough to avoid it.

'F-14D is a heavy plane, but maneuverable at low speeds…my Typhoon is just barely going to beat it out….barely' She chose this moment to realize that the Super Tomcat was leveling out and a tunnel was just ahead of them. 'Oh Jeez! The tunnel part! This part of the game always freaking sucks! And I'm going way too fast to maneuver, that baka Shinji! He's going to make me kill myself! How embarrassing that he would even try that stunt on me!' She pulled her throttle back and managed to slow down to a normal speed as she entered the tunnel. Shinji's plane was just ahead, and within range of her weapons.

'Wonderful…' She put her finger over the gun button and lined him up.

* * *

Rei at this very moment was doing the exact same part, except that she was in the story mode, so she was actually fighting multiple targets at once. 

"_The Force is strong in this one_."

"Oh sweet cheese sticks, a---!" Rei slammed hard into the wall. "How will I ever complete my scenario?" She said as tears fell down her face.

* * *

Asuka had just started firing when Shinji had pulled up and disappeared. "Where'd baka Shinji go? Did he just commit suicide so he could be my lo-….my slave for the next week?" Asuka had barely caught herself and she continued flying through the tunnel in silence. 

"Asuka, I wouldn't look behind you. And no, I won't be your love slave." Asuka peered back to see Shinji not a 1000 yards back.

"Oh….crap."

"I win Asuka." Soon, six missiles, four being of the long range special weapons, and two normal missiles, were fired. Asuka did the only thing she could do to save herself from having to see her plane be shot down:

She ejected from her plane.

'phew Now all I have to do is beat Rei and I will be master!' Shinji laughed lightly as he peeled he hands from the control sticks. He was really out of shape….but then again, having not played in the six months or so since coming to Tokyo-3 because you were the target of every cultist and terrorist did that to you.

Shinji was glad to be back in this 'cockpit'. Many hours had been spent in the one back at his guardian's home, who had been a fighter pilot himself during the wars that happened after Second Impact. Shinji felt at peace in the 'sky' and could let himself be free and not worry about what others would do or say, or even if they would hurt him. Up there….he was the Demon Lord. But everywhere else… he was Shinji Ikari, pilot of EVA Unit 01, son of Gendo and Yui Ikari, abandoned for 10 years just to be brought back for the sole purpose of saving humanity.

He loved the feel of having his prized jacked on again. The fact that everyone just berated him over and over again caused him not to show his achievements. What would they know about the pain and suffering he had to endure to earn the name of Demon Lord of Asia? Sometimes the actual fighter pilots that fought against the "Child Idol" were pissed after losing so easily, and chose to take it out on him. Shinji only sighed as he realized that his fans were probably out there now, waiting. Not to mention that he needed to go tell Asuka something.

He got out and the room was completely quiet as he walked over to the other side and ducked into its enclosed 'cockpit'.

"Asuka, before you say anything, I want you to know that I won't be a mean slave driver, and that I'm very happy that I got to fly against a very pretty and very capable person like you." Shinji reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. Her head was turned away, so he didn't know if she was crying, angry or any/all of the above.

"…baka Demon Lord…" Asuka said quietly, acknowledging everything he had said and a lot more.

"How about I make it up to you? Once I beat Rei, I'll let you borrow the remote for an hour or so, ok?"

Asuka's face changed noticeably and she turned around and pulled Shinji into a deep kiss.

* * *

Rei on the other hand was now playing on the Ace level and she yawned as she shot down a squadron of enemies. 

"I will complete my scenario."

* * *

"I can't believe it…..she beat me….a rookie player beat me….the Demon Lord….was defeated…." Shinji was carrying Rei on his back. Rei had quickly beaten Shinji and caused much disruption in the crowd. Rei had promptly made Shinji give him the leather jacket she was now wearing. Shinji heard a soft snore. "And now she's taking a nap as I struggle to carry her home!" 

"I can't believe you lost to Wondergirl! I mean think about it, since you beat me, and then Rei beat you, that means she beat me! ARGH!!! SHINJI NO BAKA!!!" Asuka punched hard into his chest sending him down to the ground and into a compromising position with his head laying on Rei's…..skirt.

"Shinji save some for later….we aren't even married yet. Besides what else are you going to do when you 'worship' me tonight?" Rei wiped the sleep from her eyes and looked at Shinji, who was at this point, unconscious.

"REI!!!!"

"What?"

"What happened to us trying to let him figure his own self out first!"

"What happened was that you and he are now my slaves for two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS!"

"Starting now."

"WHY YOU LITTLE….." Shinji was unfortunate enough to be regaining consciousness at this moment and leaned up and into Asuka's targeting sights. "BAKA SHINJI!!!!!!! YOU WERE THE SMART ASS WHO GOT ME INTO THIS! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY!" She began to crack her knuckles and then started feeling weird. The birds started flying away and even people were running.

click

(In super slow motion) "Noooooooo!" There was an extended blast from the collar causing Asuka to jump into the air and multiple colors of light to shine from her.

"Are you hungry Rei? For some reason I just got the urge for some barbecue." Shinji's head was turned away from the twitching mess on the sidewalk.

"I wouldn't have any idea why…" Rei managed to keep a straight face as she picked up Shinji and got back onto his back. "Home Shinji. Oh and make sure you pick up Asuka…we wouldn't want any animals getting sick off of rotten meat…" She honestly sounded worried for the animals.

'What have I gotten myself into?' Shinji managed to think before Rei spurred him towards home.

* * *

"Don't you think you should just enjoy your vacation Misato?" Kaji looked up from his place on the bed to where Misato was sitting in the room's sole chair, which was in front of the desk where her laptop was now sitting. 

"I'm really worried about them though…especially since Rei was the one that arranged for us to be here." She opened her email inbox to find a lot of the usual garbage. "Breast enhancement….viagra….Nigerian bankers………Commander Ikari?" She clicked on the message and was rewarded with the "Look at the….newlyweds?" picture that had made the commander laugh until a medic had to be called in to give him pure oxygen.

"Oh my….how cute….although I feel sorry for Shinji…"

"Why's that?"

"Don't you know what day it is?" Kaji just looked on blankly. Misato sighed and gave him the answer. "Asuka's period should be kicking in soon."

"Dear God…….poor Shinji." The thought of Asuka's cranky time made him shudder. "Do you think we need to get Section 2 to separate her from them?"

"Are you nuts? If she's letting Shinji get that close…she'll kill any punk who'd try."

"Yeah, Section 2 doesn't get paid enough for some of the stuff they have to put up with."

"None of us do…Damn…now I need a drink…."Misato looked at her watch. "C'mon Kaji…happy hour."

"Good God….here we go again…." Kaji cried as he was dragged out of the room.

* * *

Herald of Light: Okay. I know that this was probably a difficult chapter for some people to digest, but I feel better, and my itch to see if I could do an Ace Combat dogfight is scratched. 

Anyway, Shinji's backbone appeared, got crunched when he arrived at Tokyo-3, arrived again and beat Asuka, then got decimated by Rei. We will have to see what happens in the upcoming chapters. Not much of the storyline has been put forward, but I do know that I want to at least have a special section or chapter featuring Gendo Ikari. Let's just say that that section/chapter would be full of Gendo bashing. ponders Maybe I'll have to raise the rating to M for that though...oh well, we shall see, eh?


	6. Chapter 6

Herald of Light: As promised, here is some Gendo bashing (way too nice of me what I did, in my opinion), and sort of explaining his...er...you know what I mean.

Things have been kinda hard on me the last week so I don't have much to give you guys, just this and chapter 7. I have tests out the wazoo so I don't know what I'll be able to put up, but just so you know, I have the folders for both this and the original version sitting on my desktop, tempting me all the time. I also have part of Chapter 8 written out, so there is hope for more! But anyway...our story continues...

* * *

"Gendo, can I ask a question?" The sub-commander and commander of NERV were just sitting there, waiting for their rescue teams to come and get them through the frozen door to the room that some of the lower level employees called "Hell on Earth."

"Don't see what else we can do...I've done the paperwork for the next three months and given raises to everyone that deserves one, even a few that don't. And the kids aren't back at Katsuragi's, so there's nothing to watch there. I'm bored. So what's on your mind?"

"What's happened? You've been acting s-strange lately, and I know it isn't this d-damn cold." Fuyutsuki shivered in place while trying to chip the ice from his shoes so he could sit in the seat across from his boss that was installed yesterday.

"You really want to know, don't you?"

"Like you said, not much we have to do right now. And to put it bluntly, you going from jackass to…a tolerably nice guy in a night just doesn't even sound right. I bet even the MAGI couldn't figure that one out. So, as the old saying goes, I want to hear it from the horse's mouth."

"Fine. The other day, as I was taking a nap, I had a dream…"

* * *

"GENDO ROKUBUNGI!!!!!" He shot up from his sleeping position to the voice of his wife. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO OUR SON, LET ALONE ALL OF HUMANITY!!!"

For some reason, Gendo's mind thought that he must have been having a nightmare, and dismissed the voice as he lay back down.

**"OH NO YOU DON'T. GET UP!**" Somewhere nearby he heard a click and soon started feeling tingly. 'That's odd….I haven't been on any of my arms long enough for them to fall asleep…have I?' The electricity finally kicked in and he shot up from his bed.

"NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!" Yui was standing there with a frying pan in one hand and a remote in the other. "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?"

Gendo yawned and rubbed his ears. She had been yelling this whole time. 'Wait a minute…Yui is right here….' He reached forward and tried to hug her, but she moved out of the way and slammed the pan into his head.

"What was that for?"

"Answer my questions, asshole!"

The words cut through him and he knew that this wasn't the kind, caring, Yui he had loved. This was the pissed, kick ass, tear your face off Yui that caused men to cower in fear at the mere mention of.

And he was the target of her anger. 'This is not part of any scenario.'

"Yui…all that I have done has been to get you back—"

"YOU WERE THE -censored- WHO LEFT ME IN THERE TO BEGIN WITH!" The frying pan came down again and connected with his back. "NOT TO MENTION THAT YOU KILLED NAOKO AKAGI! AND DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING WITH HER!"

"As I said, ever since then all I have done has been to get you back. I have made up my own plan to have Third impact reunite us."

"And what of our son, Shinji? Hmm? You just leave him out of your scenario and you're precious 'Third Impact' just like you've left him alone for the last 10 years! Do you know the pain you've put him through? Do you know that he's excelled despite that!? DO YOU KNOW YOUR SON?" Another hit with the pan, which was now becoming dented, was his reward for the silence.

"….No…I don't." Truth was the only way to make the pain stay at this level, and not increase, or so he thought.

"That's right. You don't even know that your son has the makings of both a fine chef and a fighter pilot! He's been winning tournaments for that Ace Combat game for the last four years, and he's even been targeted by the JSAF as a potential fighter ace! He is ten, no thirty times the man you ever were!" This time the pan's handle broke because of the force put behind it. "He is a man that any woman should count themselves lucky to even know exists, let alone have his affection!"

The man raised his bloody face up to her and braced for more of the punishment.

"You know that for all that you've done that even if you start Third Impact that you are going straight to hell. Either the hell that God put into place, or the hell that I will enforce on you for everything you have done." She cracked her knuckles and prepared to give a punch that even Asuka would have admired.

"PLEASE! STOP!" For the first time in as long as he could remember, Gendo was on his knees and begging for his life. "Please….don't hurt me anymore. I'm afraid of this Yui. I want the Yui that loves me, not kicks my ass."

"Really? You really think you can make up for all that you have done?" She was still feeling angry at him, but knew that he was genuinely feeling sorry for everything he had done.

He thought about everything. He had killed so many, deceived for so long, pushed his own son away, and treated everyone like trash. The prime example for this was Rei Ayanami. Sure she was a clone, but was still human and deserved, but was never treated, as one, and as a result, had more in common with a machine than a human being.

"No…I can't. But maybe I can at least do something to make sure that the one's I've hurt can make a life that they deserve. One where I'm not a bastard, and at least a helper."

"Hmm…maybe there is hope yet…." Yui reached down and put her hand on his face. "Listen here though…the moment you start acting like that again…." She brought up her remote. "Your soul gets fried."

"You mean this isn't a dream?"

"With everything that you've witnessed? You know better. Commander Ikari." Another frying pan appeared and was soon introduced to the man. "Now, bend over so I can give you the punishment you deserve."

Gendo's face, despite being bruised and bloodied, obviously showed his disbelief. Yui soon explained.

"I have ten years of frustration to get out dear." Said with a smile that the Sirens could have used instead of song to lure sailors in.

"Yes dear…" Gendo mumbled as he started to cry.

* * *

"Jesus…"

"Oh, and Yui says hi, and that you've done as good a job as could be expected with the shit you've had to put up with."

"Hmm…that does sound like the Demon Yui I had heard of." He finally was able to move and sat down in the recently installed chair. "You should have put this here a long time ago. I'm not as young as you."

"I'm sorry, sensei."

All the sub-commander could do was blink. 'He just said that he was sorry…and 'Hell on Earth' has frozen over…looks like it's the end of the world after all.'

"Just make sure that you don't let that side of Yui come out again. And if you do…give me some fair warning."

All the Commander could do was chuckle. "Indeed."

* * *

Outside the door, many people were wondering if they should open the door at all. They had heard something that caused them all to flinch. Laughter.

"They've gone nuts, I'm sure of it." One technician spoke up finally.

"Well, when hell freezes over…" At this everyone started laughing.

"Let's just do it and get it done with." One brave woman stood in front of the door and pushed the button to open it.

"You! You get a raise and a paid vacation!" Commander Ikari burst out from the door with a wide smile on his face. "What?"

"I think you'd better change gradually…." Fuyutsuki rubbed his forehead as he surveyed the scene in the hallway.

Twenty technicians lay there, unconscious.

"I think you're onto something there Footsie! Let's go get a drink, on me!" The bearded man slapped his teacher on the back as they walked out.

"Oh please…..why bring back that name? I haven't had to deal with that since Yui left…"

* * *

"Did Unit-01 just sneeze?" Maya Ibuki looked up from her console and re-ran the footage.

"As if things couldn't get any weirder around here…"


	7. Chapter 7

The metallic clanging of the alarm clock woke Shinji up. 'Weird, I don't have an old-fashioned one like that…' he thought to himself as he got up and went to his closet, intent on getting a new set of clothes. Opening the door all he found as that there was some MRE's, canned goods, and, to Shinji's utter surprise, several handguns and boxes of ammunition. 'Must be a prank or something…' Shinji closed the door and moved out into the common area. 'Well, whatever is going on, I'd better get breakfast started.'

But even this was blocked by the empty cupboards and fridge. To add to his problems, it seemed that not even the electric stove worked. 'Odd…nothing's working, and nothing is on…better check to see if Misato knows anything about this.'

Misato's room was full of clutter, and covered in dust, like it hadn't even been looked upon in years. Asuka's room was similar, except that on the desk was a single picture of her and Kaji and a lighter coating of dust everywhere. 'Ok, what's going on here?' Shinji went back to his own room and grabbed the MRE unsure of if he should eat it, but his stomach was not relenting. As he opened the bag and started fishing out its contents, his eyes caught something outside his window.

Or rather a lack of something.

Where Tokyo-3 once was, a giant crater now stood. Shinji could tell that it came close to the apartment. The sky was what got to him the most. Blood red, despite the sun being fully above the horizon. 'What the hell?' The MRE was dropped to the floor and Shinji dashed to the door and went to find out what was going on.

The city was completely deserted. No animals, no people, not even the familiar hum of electricity. 'NERQ headquarters….someone would know there, right?' He took off in the direction of the crater where NERV lay exposed to the world.

As he got there, there was the urge to use the restroom and Shinji did this, noticing the toilets didn't flush, and the faucets didn't work. 'Could it be like that time the power was sabotaged? Doesn't explain the crater, or the animals…' Shinji looked up at the mirror and was frightened with what he saw.

His face was obviously older, but maybe by only a couple years. A long scar ran along his left side and another on his right side that went up between his eyes. His hair was long and dishelved, and the stubble on his face was now apparent. 'Oh, no! I look like Kaji! Don't tell me I've switched bodies with that old man!?'

"Shinji, my son." Gendo came into the room, limping.

"Father? What's going on?" The man looked a wreck, his hair having gone white and his glasses missing the lenses. His clothes were tattered and looked like they would disintegrate at any moment.

"So you've forgotten again…" The old man looked down and shook his head. "Come…let me tell you….and show you." Motioning for the boy to follow he turned around and walked out of the bathroom.

* * *

The command center also looked a wreck, but Gendo just pulled up a chair to a terminal and patted it, meaning that Shinji should sit.

"This is the world after Third Impact. You kept it from becoming a full Third Impact, but the damage was done. I was such a fool to try to manipulate the world and try to get your mother back by destroying it all. I will surely burn in hell for my sins."

"Father…what do you mean? Third Impact? What have I got to do with anything?"

The old man turned around and typed a bit into the computer. "Here…I've managed to divert what was left of the city's power to this one terminal…this is all that is left of the MAGI and of mankind's dominance over this world. I can show you exactly everything that I did, everything that happened, and what I should have done in order to stop it."

"Why are you doing this? Isn't it pointless? With everyone gone…"

"You may be right, but what else is this old fart going to do? I'm not exactly like you and can't find my own food anymore. Besides…I think that maybe there could be a way for you to stop it…in the past….avert all the events of the aborted Third Impact."

"How?"

"Shinji…just read for now…"

* * *

"What is that dumbkopf doing? Where's our breakfast?" Asuka came out of her room expecting the smell of sausages and eggs, but was given a good shock instead.

"There's your breakfast Asuka….hope you enjoyed it." Rei smiled and went back to drinking her tea. "Shinji had a…trying night last night."

"I'm sure he did with you probably trying to rape him the whole time." Asuka coughed as she braced for another shock, which didn't come.

"Asuka, you don't seem to give me enough credit. I may be new to my emotions, but at least I can control the…desires. Unlike a certain girl I know."

"Hah! Yeah, Misato always seems to be trying to steal my Kaji!" Rei's eye noticeably twitched at this.

"Which one do you want, Kaji, or Shinji?" She asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Kaji's the real man, but Shinji can cook, clean, and is very easily influenced, if you know what I mean. I'm probably still trying to figure that out for myself."

"WRONG ANSWER!"

---------------

"So that's all I need to do?"

"Well, yes and no. Helping Asuka destroy the EVA Series will make SEELE's version of Third Impact fail, but my own plans could conceivably still work.

"You mean Reilith?" His answer was a simple nod.

"We aren't sure if it is working, but we have managed to recruit your mother in order to have her give me a…kick in the pants, so to speak."

"Hopefully not with Unit-01…that would hurt." They both chuckled.

"Probably would have been less painful than what she'll do."

"You mean you don't remember?"

"No. We are talking about changing the past Shinji, meaning that if everything succeeds…this world will cease to exist."

Shinji was deep in thought when it hit him that there were two people he wanted to see. "What happened to Rei and Asuka?"

"Rei…" Gendo pointed to the computer. "was part of Reilith, so she died with it when you…came out. Asuka…" He looked down and Shinji could have sworn he saw a tear. "She committed suicide about three months ago when she found out she was pregnant with your child."

-----------------

"What do you mean 'wrong answer'!" Asuka got up after having been shocked multiple times at the highest setting, and needless to say that the redhead less than pleased.

"You said that you loved Shinji back at HQ, but now you are saying that you also want Kaji? What's the deal? Why are you lost between the two?" Rei was starting to show her anger. Just imagine the face of anger with those blood red pupils, who wouldn't be scared?

"You practically have him at your beck and call! I'm surprised you haven't slapped a leash on him yet!" Asuka fired back, trying to get things back in her control.

Rei raised her finger. "I could say the same to you Soryu! How long have you lived with him and held feelings for him? Yet all you do is abuse and hurt him when you try to make him advance on you because you are so self-centered as to think that no one is worthy of being yours unless they make the move to get past your emotional barriers!" She slammed her fist down on the table. "What makes you think that I like being around you even!" Her face began to burn red and she started coughing.

Taken aback and feeling defeated, Asuka quickly retreated to her room crying. 'No one makes me cry! I'll get you back you bitch!'

Rei on the other hand was having problems breathing and could feel that something was definitely wrong. She ran to Shinji's room where her bags were, but she couldn't find them. Then she remembered that she had flushed the pills down the toilet. "SHINJI!!" She managed to yell out, waking the boy. He shot up and looked right at her. "CALL AKAGI!" Sweat was pouring off of Rei as she struggled to both breathe and calm down.

Shinji immediately pulled out his cell phone and dialed headquarters. "Put me through to Dr. Akagi! NOW!" He yelled as he picked up Rei and put her on his bed.

"Shinji? You'd better not be---"

"REI IS HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING! SHE TOLD ME TO CALL YOU!"

Shinji heard some swearing and responded to questions asking about Rei's condition.

"I'll be there in five minutes, have the door open and keep a cold compress on Rei's forehead. Also, stay there around her and pay no attention to whatever she may say." The phone hung up and blinked that the call had ended.

Shinji dashed to the kitchen and came back with a cold rag and put it on her forehead.

"Shinji?" Rei's almost angelic voice was empty now. "Is that you?"

"Yes Rei, I'm here. Don't talk much. Please….Dr. Akagi is on her way."

"Pills…when you…started inviting me, I stopped…taking them."

"What?! Why would you do that?"

"Because…they keep me…" Rei coughed some more and was now wheezing. "they keep me from…expressing my emotions. They keep me under…his control."

"Who's control?" Shinji was worried, but trying to keep her talking so that he knew she was still there.

"Your father's. In order to keep his scenario…going."

"Scenario? You mean the one to start Third Impact?"

* * *

"Ungh…" Misato rolled over in her bed as the sun streamed in her porthole. "Pen-Pen…stop it with the flashlight…" She mumbled as she reached over expecting the penguin to be laying next to her, but her hand hit another person.

"Ouch…jeez Misato, you'd think after wooing me all night that you wouldn't hit me right off the bat." Kaji chuckled as he wiped his face and rose. "Of course, being wooed by you isn't something I say no to."

"Don't tell me…" Misato mumbled and looked down. She was clothed, and so was Kaji.

"Unlike what you'd have people believe, I actually hold you in a high respect. You asked for me to stay with you because…you felt really lonely last night."

'He's telling the truth…at least I'm pretty sure he is….I had way too much last night.' Misato sighed as she went to the porthole and opened it in order to get some air. She finally had gotten her 'sea legs' and was enjoying her cruise, now if only she had more than the two days before she had to return back to the kids.

"I just hope the apartment is in one piece when I get back." She muttered as she saw Kaji go towards the bathroom.

"I'd worry more about if you wouldn't have to have a pregnant Rei move in." Misato blushed at first but then bust out laughing.

"Ow…I shouldn't have done that…"

-------------------

Bonus blooper section (takes place after the chapter...not part of the story, just a funny afterthought while I was listening to a certain song from the musical "Avenue Q"...

"Misato I'm going to check my email. Okay?" Receiving a muttered positive from the heap on the floor in the bathroom Kaji booted up the computer and looked through his files.

"Bill..Bill…'newlywed' picture…" Kaji chuckled at the thought of the three children in that picture. "Time to get some business done. eBay here I come!"

"You know Kaji…the internet may be a wide and vast thing, but there is only one good use for it." Misato slumped against him and hit a button, bringing up a website that made the man blush. Sure he had seen this kind of sight before…but that had been…ages ago.

"Misato…the internet isn't just for that."

'Kaji…you know nothing…" At this point she broke out singing. "THE INTERNET IS FOR---"

"No Misato…it isn't."

"It was created for that sole purpose!"

"No Misato, it wasn't created for that…the internet links man with one another unlike anything that has ever happened on the face of the earth…and you think its to be used for…"

"YOUTUBE!" Misato pushed him out of the chair and then added. "Oh and the porn comes in handy once in a while too."

* * *

Herald: Okay, that's all for this week folks! I really appriciate everyone's reviews and read all of them as I can. Until the next time though, keep your stick on the ice! 


	8. Chapter 8

"What's wrong with her?" Gendo had been awoken in his apartment in the middle of the night. At first he was happy for it, because Yui had been 'lecturing' him again, but now he wasn't.

"Rei has suffered an emotional collapse. This is due to a lack of medication in her bloodstream."

"So she missed a dosage?" That was what had happened four years ago after a test had caused her to sleep for two days straight.

"No, more like she's missed an entire month's worth. There is practically none of the compound in her bloodstream."

"What could have brought her to do that?"

"I don't know. I have her sedated for now and her body is stabilized, but I don't know what shape her mind is in."

"What about the other Chil—" Remembering his experiences with Yui, Gendo paused for a second. "What about Shinji and Soryu?"

"Asuka seems to be responding to this almost too well. According to her, they were having an argument which got pretty heated. That was probably what triggered Rei's event. Asuka seems to be ignoring Shinji who is taking this pretty hard. He was asleep when Rei came in and scared him awake."

"Should I come down there to…" The words felt foreign to him but he remembered the beating he would get if he went back to sleep. "I will be down there in a little bit. Please do whatever you can and make sure that Rei doesn't die." Setting the phone back in its cradle, he got up and looked down at the happy picture taken so many years ago. "Shinji, I pray that I can give you happiness through Third Impact."

* * *

"Who am I?" A blue haired girl looked at her reflection. "Where am I?"

"Hey! She's awake!" A doctor came in and saw that her patient was up and in the bathroom. "Get them on the line!"

"What is going on? Why can't I remember anything?" Rei turned around at the appearance of the white robed doctor and started her interrogation. "Where am I? What is my name?"

"Rei…calm down…you are just fine. You just got out of a coma you've been under for almost a year. You were in an incident while touring the NERV Industrial Complex. A piece of debris hit you on your head and there was massive trauma. The firefighters couldn't reach you, and…hey…where is he? He's usually here by now." She looked down at her watch and then looked out the window.

"Excuse me…for some reason…I feel like I know you. Are you…Akagi?"

"That's my last name. You must have heard it while you were under. My name is Ritsuko. Rei, I need to you to come back and lay down, ok? Your body is still rather weak, despite your brother's visits."

"My brother?" Rei moved unsteadily back to the bed and sat in it. "What is going on outside? What are those white things that keep moving by?"

"They are snowflakes, my dear sister." A gray haired young man came around the corner with his backpack in hand. "I'm so happy that you are finally awake. Life has been hard since you're…" He stopped as he sat down and noticed the surprised look on his sister's face.

"Apparently she's experiencing amnesia. We told you there was a good chance this may happen." The brunette put her hand on Kaoru's shoulder. "Rei. This is your brother. If you want, you may look at your chart and verify this. As for other things…you are probably going to need to take it slow. If you need me or any of the other doctors, press the green button, ok? I'll tell the nurse that you'll have dinner. If I remember right, its meatloaf, not much to wake up to, but it's better than the nutrient fluid that's been force fed to you for the last year. I'll be back in a couple hours to check up on you. Until then, feel better."

"Tabris…"

"What a foolish name sister. Where'd you come up with that?"

"I…I don't know. I just…feel that's what I should call you. The same thing happened when my doctor came in. I saw her face…and a name popped into my head."

"Is my little sunshine becoming psychic?" Kaoru brought his hand down and ruffled her long hair. "I wish you would remember everything so you could come back home. Mom and dad are both worried about you, not to mention the questions I get about you at school."

"Kaoru, could you please tell me, who I am?" Rei didn't know if she could really trust anyone, but she was told that she could trust this boy, so until she had reason not to, she'd get along as best she could.

"I'll do you one better. I'll let you do that." Kaoru reached into his bag and fished out a leather-bound notebook and a small digital voice recorder. "These are yours. You were an avid writer and philosopher. These are your works. The voice recorder is actually your diary. I have to admit that there were times that I missed you so much that I would come in here and play it while I took care of you."

Taking the items, Rei began to try filling in the holes she had awoken with.

* * *

"Rei…please…wake up. Asuka's being so cruel right now, and I know I should be a man and stand up to her, but…I'm just so confused. Before you came in I was dreaming about something. Please…wake up and be ok. You…I think…I really—"

The door slammed open revealing his father. "Shinji. Come with me. It is time I explain to you why you fight. You deserve that much if you are going to pilot the EVA."

"Father. I already know about Third Impact and your attempts to get back with mom who's soul resides in Unit-01. It's weird, but I just know these things. I feel like I've known them for a long time, and like dusting the cover of a book after having ignored it for years, they are coming back to me. Now if you don't mind, I'm talking with Rei."

Father looked upon son with one part shock, one part pride. 'My son just stood up to me. Despite me being the bastard father I have been. I know I'm the one he hates most in this world, even though he tries to ignore it.' "Shinji. Just how much do you know?"

The door was closed and the confessional between the relatives began. Their sole witness was a comatose young girl, trapped in another world.

* * *

**--Future world--**

"Shinji. Is everything ok there in Unit 01?"

"Yes Father. The LCL smells a little stale, but I seem to be ok. I'm ready to give this a shot whenever you are."

"We only get one chance. Tabris…you may begin. Open the Sea of Durac so that they may be united."

As the Angel responded to him, Gendo turned his attention one last time to his son. "Shinji. I want to tell you what I should have so long ago. I'm sorry, and I love you."

"Thank you…Father." Shinji responded as he felt himself dissolve into the LCL and into his mother's awaiting arms.

"Now we leave everything in the arms of one boy." The reincarnated Angel looked on as his own powers began to fail him and the sea of darkness closed around Unit-01.

* * *

'So no matter what I'll do, the scenarios of SEELE and mine will fail.' Gendo Ikari now laid his head on his pillow and pondered his conversation with his shunned son. The sun was starting to influence the sky and the clouds reflected the light in a way that would have been valued by any other onlooker.

But Gendo Ikari was not one to care for such things so long as he was apart from his loving wife. He was fast asleep.

--SLAM!-- "How'd you like my new baseball bat, Gendo?"

Wheezing, Gendo just looked up at his wife. "Just dandy…"


	9. Chapter 9

**So I first posted 8 earlier this week, but I didn't like some of the things being said with it, so I took it back down until I wrote 9 to fill in some of the problems that were put forward in 8, and fill in more of the plot. Anyway, I hope that things go better this time around, cause I really am going to be swamped and there is a good likelihood that nothing will be posted until closer to the middle of the month thanks to tests and such. I will try my best, but classes do take priority. Paying $300 a credit hour, I'd better make sure I do the work, right?**

**Anyway, I digress. Enjoy! Oh, and I didn't know the Dirac Sea was a real concept either until I looked it up! I only lightly reviewed it, so the concepts may not be right within the story, but since it's a theoretical concept, who knows what a real one would do, right?**

* * *

"The Angel is making its way through the air towards the space above NERV HQ. Movement has been placed at 3 miles per hour." Hyuga looked up from his station to where Misato was considering the options available to her. 

'Rei is still in a coma, Asuka's pissed and her sync ratio has dropped. Shinji…his is the highest, but who knows if he's capable of anything. Why did I have to come back from my cruise to this crap?'

"Launch Unit 01 in the point position, and Unit 02 in support. Have them close to within 750 meters of the target and await further orders." She rubbed her eyes as she saw the status of each unit as they neared the target. 'Shit…Asuka's at a 60 sync, and Shinji has a 65 and that's down in the short time he's been in there…things aren't looking good.'

* * *

**--Inside Unit 01--**

'I have to win. If I win, Rei will come back for me. She'll care for me and shock Asuka real good for being so mean to me.' Pictures of fried Asuka with a side of green beans and corn popped into his head, eliciting a small chuckle, but then he remembered just how much hate the girl had. "She'd probably taste like shit. No wonder Rei was worried about the animals…"

"What was that Third Child?" On cue, Asuka's 'wonderful' face popped up to his left, scaring him. "If you are so concerned for animals, why don't you just go wild you baka! I'm the superior EVA pilot, no matter what happened in that stupid video game. I've been trained, I've been –"

Shinji cut the transmission. "Bitch. Bitch. Bitch. That's all she knows how to do. Why am I putting up with that?" The collar on his neck buzzed him slightly, as if reminding him of Rei and his feelings for her. "Well, looks like I need to rethink my love for Asuka, now don't I?"

Shinji had taken the moment to close his eyes and didn't notice that Asuka had re-opened the link, just in time to hear those words.

Inside Evangelion Unit-02, one redhead's heart collapsed, and her barriers to every human being rose to defend her, strengthened by her will power and hatred for the one that had just shunned her.

"Are you in position yet? Asuka!" Shinji tried to bring up Unit-02, but he failed. He was closest to the Angel, and had been given permission to fire. "Look's like I'm going to have make EVA piloting a man's job!" With those words, he brought his pistol forward and shot at the floating orb in the sky.

"SHINJI LOOK OUT!" The cry from his line with HQ made the pilot look around him, but he saw nothing except a shadow under his…shins?

'I'm sinking…I can't feel my feet and I'm sinking' "AHHHHH! MISATO!! REI!!! HELP ME!!!!"

* * *

"Sister, what's wrong?" 

"I don't know Kaoru. After reading and listening to all of this, I still don't know who I am. I feel as though I already knew all of this, but then again, it doesn't feel right."

The boy sat down in the seat. 'The doctor's said that this could happen. I wish my sister would remember everything. It's so lonely at home.' "Rei. You need to know that you aren't going to remember everything quickly. I'm here for you…you are all I have left Rei." He shifted his eyes down towards the floor.

"…brother. I don't know what to say. I don't feel like I'm in the right place. Something is wrong." During her nap earlier that day bits and pieces of another world came together. Angels, monsters that were to her an enemy. A boy whose name she just couldn't remember, but wanted to hold. A girl with red hair whom elicited hatred and a strong urge to strangle. 'Which one is real? Am I even real?' She didn't dare tell Kaoru or Dr. Akagi, for fear that they would think she was insane. But deep down something wasn't right. And that feeling was now screaming into her mind.

"Are you okay Rei?" Kaoru looked up at her heart monitor and saw that it was starting beep faster and faster. He hit the button for a nurse to come in, and his wrist was immediately clamped in his sister's hand. "Rei! Let go…that hurts."

"He's in danger! I NEED TO HELP HIM!" The words poured from her soul in a voice that scared the boy. "Shinji! Don't leave me!" Her grasp tightened and the sound of breaking bones filled the room, followed by their owner's screams.

Rei's heart rate was now approaching critical, and her body just wasn't able to handle the stress and it passed out, blood starting to trickle out of her nose.

* * *

"It's been four hours since he was sucked in, and all you have to give me is a plan to destroy the angel!?" Misato's slap echoed through the command center. "That is unacceptable!" 

"What else would you have me do Misato? Our job is to destroy the Angels, not deal with your bullshit and get your surrogate family back in shape!" Another slap was heard.

"BOTH OF YOU STOP!" Commander Ikari's voice boomed from above them like a god ordering his subjects to fear him. "It is our job to defeat the Angels in order to protect mankind from Third Impact. This also means that we need to plan to retain all of our units and pilots. So you two will act professionally and fulfill your jobs, otherwise I will make you both disappear! DO WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING!?"

Everyone, including the Sub-Commander who was unfortunate to have to see Ikari's face and be at the point-blank range for these orders, responded. "YES SIR!"

"Good God am I going to pay for that tonight…" Gendo said in a quieter tone meant only for his teacher. This elicited a chuckle from the old man.

"I think Yui might be a little lenient. Especially if we get your son back."

"The Dirac Sea… a space of infinite volume holding matter in negative energy states. Isn't that the theoretical point that Paul Dirac made?"

"Something like that. Some have even begun to think that it could be the door way to a semi-parallel universe. One where time runs differently, maybe even backwards."

"So you're saying that if time were to be running faster, Shinji…is dead. If it runs slower, we have more time than we think, and if it ran negative…" Despite his degrees in theoretical physics and bio-mechanics, Gendo was having a hard time wrapping his head around this one.

"Negative time would destroy positive time. For every dark there is a light, and where the two meet, they destroy each other. Shinji could conceivably have been destroyed the instant he went in. Unless his AT-field somehow protected him from the effects of negative time. And since it takes his unit at full power to project it, I don't honestly know how long we can hold out hope for the boy. But I also have to wonder what must be happening to him. Especially if time is running backwards…"

"Yes, he could be growing younger…"

"Not what I mean Gendo. He could be remembering the future, theoretically he could have shown some symptoms of this before he was even interred in the Sea." Gendo's look betrayed confusion. "You never could think fourth dimensionally Gendo. In our universe, when someone gets sick, they display symptoms after the disease takes hold. Because of the Dirac Sea, Shinji could have been showing that he knew the future before it could even happen. The symptoms before the disease."

The Commander could only look in awe. Without knowing it, he had just explained why Shinji had known things he wasn't supposed to have. Including the words 'Human Instrumentality Project.'

* * *

"Not much time left…three hours at the best." Shinji had long given up on seeing anything outside of his EVA, and had diverted all of the energy left to his life support. "Doesn't matter, but hell, maybe I can at least figure out some stuff before I die. I have silence at last. Man I wish I had my cello…"

* * *

"That…That…" Asuka slammed her locker door and it was soon dented by her other hand. Shinji had said the words that hurt her the most. 'He doesn't love me, that punk. He better not make it back, 'cause I'll kill him for those words. No one hurts me.' She then remembered that Rei was in the infirmary, still in her coma. 

"Well, at least I can fix that loose end before I die." She walked out of the locker room with her back pack on, heading towards Rei, intent on making the Fates cut a certain clone's string early.

* * *

"Now where is it?" The elder Shinji looked around him, but his EVA's sensors weren't nearly as improved as they needed to be. But he was able to see around him to a distance of about 30 meters, so he wasn't going to complain too much. 

He was supposed to get to that Unit 01 and merge with it, increasing its power and the stability of his past self's ego in order to prevent all attempts at merging humanity into one entity. 'Sure, I will die, but at least Rei and Asuka will live, and maybe the product of our merging…maybe that Shinji will be able to be happy with them.' A sigh filled the entry plug as he continued looking around him. 'Please, God, let me find him…don't make Kaoru's, Ritsuko's, …Father's sacrifices be in vain.'

'The S2 organ is working ok at least. Too bad I couldn't tell Ritsuko that her math was right. And she did it all on her own too.'

'Father…to think that during Instrumentality you your head bitten off. Hard to believe that you still had the willpower to bring yourself out of the LCL Sea. It's sad that your body is so…incapacitated. But then again, when Instrumentality was achieved, you were sent to hell. Eternal punishment for your sins. Wonder why I was made to live through that?' Straight ahead a shadow began to appear.

"There you are…"

* * *

"AH! The LCL is getting cloudy! Come on…just kill me already! I'm going to die by drowning…I'd rather just get shot. Why couldn't father have done that when he shoved me away? Maybe there is mercy…" He jumped up to the hatch and started pounding it, wanting it to open and the world outside to take his life. "PLEASE! JUST KILL ME!" 

"I don't think you'd want that."

'A communication? From who?' Shinji scrambled back down and got back into his seat and looked at the screen. The display showed that it was from EVA Unit-01. 'What the…is the Angel trying to torment me in my dying moments?' A beep emanated from his plug suit, signaling its battery life ending. 'Not long for sure now…minutes at best.'

"Shinji…I'm you. After Third Impact. Please, let me help you. Let Mother help both of us."

To a viewer outside (if one could survive inside the Dirac Sea without aid of either an Evangelion or a will of God) it would have seemed like the two mechas were hugging each other and soon a blue glow began to surround them.

As the two individuals became a single entity.

* * *

"Asuka, position Unit 00 at the secondary point and prepare for the N2 mine detonation." Misato's voice sounded hollow and betrayed her exhaustion. Everyone had been trying to come up with some way of saving Shinji, but no matter what they thought of, there wasn't enough information to give a reasonable chance of success. In the end, it had to be chosen between either destroying the Angel and replacing Unit-01, or saving Shinji and letting the Angle reach its successful conclusion. 

Of course, things had gotten sticky when Asuka's hands had been found wrapped around the First Child's neck. Despite what everyone wanted to do, Asuka was still piloting.

Everyone, including Commander Ikari, regretted what they were about to do. But to each, it was the lesser of the two evils. Using the Dummy Plug in Unit 00, they were going to contain the massive explosion and destroy the Angel.

After all, destroying Angels was the reason why NERV was created.

Deep down though, a single spectacled man wished he had never uttered those words. Because after this, he was truly going to be alone in the world, and Instrumentality would only make Yui kick his ass more fiercely.

"Yui…please forgive…never mind…I'll take my beating. I don't deserve to have such a strong boy as a son. Make sure you have a very sharp nail in that stick tonight…"

Even though his attention was on the screen, Fuyutsuki could have sworn he saw a tear as the operation started.

"5 seconds until launch. No change in target. 3…2…1…" Hyuga paused before hitting the button to start the N2 detonation. It was a good thing he did.

"STOP THE OPERATION!" Ibuki shouted from her station as she began to get readings from Unit 1, even though there was no change from the Angel. At least not for another minute. Then, the Evangelion burst from the giant aerial orb and destroyed it.

"My God……what has man set loose on the world?"


	10. Chapter 10

Unit-01 now sat motionless within its cage, its pilot unconscious in the infirmary. Asuka was in the brig, for what sounded like the rest of her life…if she was lucky. Rei was still in her coma, and for the sake of Shinji when he woke up was now in the same room as him.

Setting down the file, Misato leaned back and stared into the ceiling. 'So we don't have a pilot until Shinji wakes up. Asuka will probably never pilot again. We all knew of the tensions between her and Rei, but what pushed her to try and kill her?' She brought up the communications log and began to skim through it. Her eye caught one part and she immediately understood

_"Well, looks like I need to rethink my love for Asuka, now don't I?"_

'Jeez, no wonder. Asuka's pretty much had a crush on him ever since she saw him being nice to Rei. Or was that jealousy -sigh- with her you never really know the difference between the two emotions.' She stood up and stretched and decided that she would have to have a chat with the Second Child.

Maybe she would be able to give some insight as to what had happened to him.

* * *

Shinji's eyes felt like they had gold bars hung on them and the light was piercing. He was back in the hospital. But it looked clean.

'Why wouldn't it be clean? That's weird.' Shinji found that his neck was equally impaired and slowly started to survey his room. To his right was the door, which was closed. It took him a few minutes to bring his head back to its original position. 'Wonder if I'm all alone. Of course I am, since the only ones that I know are alive are Kaoru, Ritsuko, and Father. Wait a minute…something isn't right, I don't know a Kaoru. Plus I'm getting some serious déjà vu.' His mind flashed images of him in the hospital room, but this time one image set itself apart in that it was of the room, but it was disheveled and looked like a bomb had gone off in it.

Shinji now started to tilt his head to his left. It sounded like he was flexing a bendy straw. 'Jeez, how long have I been out?' The last thing he remembered was being sucked into the Sea of Dirac, but other than that, there was nothing. 'Rei!? How are you still alive?/What are you doing in my room?'

"R—Re---Rei." Shinji's voice was barely above a whisper, but to him he could tell it was deeper somehow. What had happened to him in there? There were conflicting thoughts as far back as he could remember. It was like he had lived two lives. There were drastic similarities, and the differences only started about the time that he had started inviting Rei over.

'Hmm…wish I could move more so I could check on Rei.' He sighed and heard the door opening. Internally he cursed because now he had to turn his head again, and it was still the painfully slow rate that had come before.

"Shinji. I want you to know that despite what's happened to you, I'll be there for you." He felt a hand on his shoulder, but couldn't place the voice because it was fuzzy.

"Wh…Who's…there?" He managed to get out as his face made the last bit of revolution back to staring at the ceiling.

"Shinij!? You're awake?" Misato slapped the alarm to get the medical staff in and then leaned down and dragged the boy into a hug. "We were worried that you were in a coma like Rei."

"How…long?" His voice croaked and he mouthed "Water." Misato gladly helped him into a sitting position and then got a glass of water with a straw for him. She thought that he would take it, but after about ten seconds realized that Shinji wasn't going to take it, so lifted the cup to his mouth.

"You've been out for about two weeks. We thought that having you with Rei might help you when you woke up. You came out of the Angel….different. Heck, even Unit-01 is different. Ritsuko isn't quite sure of all the details, but it seems that you merged with part of the Angel and, here's the freaky part, an older version of you and Unit-01."

Shinji kept looking at her while his mind scrambled to find any evidence of this. 'Images of…' The burnt landscape of Tokyo-3 came to mind, as seen from his window. The dusty rooms of Misato and Asuka. The giant face of Relith, split in two, staring at him. His father, white haired and repentant of his sins. 'Is this…what's to come? Is this the result of what I'm doing here?'

"Shinji, is something wrong, your heart rate just skyrocketed." Ritsuko looked up from her clipboard and stared into his eyes. 'Still can't get used to them being red.' She tried to hold back a shudder, but couldn't.

"Maybe. Mirror?" Shinji slowly nodded towards Misato, asking the question that they really weren't sure what they should do about. Should they let him see himself?

"Sure, you can use my compact." Misato reached into her purse and took out the object and laid it in his hand.

'I never had this much trouble using my body before.' Shinji scolded himself as he slowly brought the object up to his face, but found that when he tried to focus to bring the other arm up that the first started to fall. "Help. Bigger Mirror." His vocal cords were still hard to use and he started to reach for the water glass after dropping the compact back to the bed.

"Oh no you don't. If you have trouble lifting a simple thing like that, I'm not going to have you wet yourself." Misato lightly batted his hand and got the glass for him.

"Shinji I think we need to take you for some tests, we can take you on this wheelchair and on the way I know there is a full-length mirror that you can use. I…I want to warn you though…it…could be a bit of a shock." She motioned for the orderlies to come in and they unhooked him from the equipment and placed him in the chair.

"Misato?"

"Yeah Shinji?

"Asuka?"

"She…won't be around for a while." Misato didn't have the heart to tell him about what Asuka had tried to do to Rei, he already had too much on his plate. 'When I get to take you home…I'll let you see her…if you are ready.'

At this point they were in the hallway and the group walked down. Orderlies, nurses, doctors, even the janitors all seemed to stare as he passed. The worst of these had been when he had passed by a group of children who were on a tour from the daycare center. On sight, nearly all of them had started crying.

'What's wrong with me? I feel…normal. My head's a little heavy, but I don't know what else to say about that.' His mind raced through the possibilities. Maybe while merging he had grown a third eye. Maybe he had two belly buttons. The image that brought everything else to a stop was an image from an old comic. The villain's name was Two-Face. One side seemed normal enough; the other…was disfigured and horrible.

"Shinji." Misato sensed the boy's unease and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You don't look horrible, in fact, you are pretty handsome. You remind me of someone, but I can't quite place it. Anyway, you'll see in a moment what is making everyone so…shocked to see you." Misato turned the corner with the group and promptly ran into a man that had been running down the hall.

"Why you little punk I'm going to kick your ass!" Misato's anger reared its head and she promptly jumped on the guy and raised her fist.

"In the middle of the hall Misato? And you thought I was desperate?" Kaji grinned from below her.

"BAKA!" The fist came down and he was promptly knocked out. Fuming, she continued down the hall. It's never a pretty sight to see a woman angry, and men throughout the hospital suddenly knew that this woman was very pissed.

* * *

Section 2 Security Room for the Hospital

"Did you just feel that Mike? I think a woman is royally pissed."

"Yeah, I felt it. There is very big disturbance in the Force."

"Yes. There is. Should we inform the boss?"

"I think he already knows. Anyway, as long as we are in here we are safe."

The door was flung off its hinges and Misato stuck her head in. "WHY WEREN'T YOU TWO KEEPING THE PATHWAY FOR SHINJI CLEAR?"

The two security guards looked at each other, then gulped. "Mommy." They said in unison as Misato opened fire using both fists.

* * *

Commander's room, NERV HQ

"Jeez…did you just feel that?"

"What do you mean Gendo?"

"You've got to be kidding me. You didn't feel the ripple that was caused by a woman being royally pissed off?"

"Huh?"

"I wonder sometimes about you Fuyutski…" Gendo looked at his paperwork and sighed. "I suppose I better get started." He shuddered again then sneezed.

"You've been sneezing an awful lot since the Angels started arriving."

"Go figure. Between SEELE, my son, and just about everyone else here at NERV, I'm sure I've got enough people saying bad things about me to last a lifetime. Either that or I'm catching a cold. I felt another ripple. Whoever that woman is, I feel sorry for the poor schmuck that is at the end of that beating."

"Should I feel sorry for Yui's kicking your ass nearly every night for the past three weeks? And I think you are full of hot air. I don't feel a thing, except for how comfortable my new chair is behind my new desk. Ah." He leaned back and had his head against the wall. "So I was thinking about asking Major Katsuragi out on a 'working dinner', what do you think?"

"I think you need to be careful, she's—" A hand pounded through the wall behind Fuyutski and grabbed him by the hair, its owner came soon after.

"TRY AND ASK ME OUT EH? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT I WOULD, CONSIDERING YOU LET SHINJI ALMOST DIE IN THAT HOSPITAL BED LAST WEEK?"

At this point Gendo was reaching for his Escape button under the desk. He would leave Fuyutski to his 'date.' He was going to go check on Shinji.

"Katsuragi, do whatever you want, minus killing him. We still need him to function."

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?" She dropped the limp body of the Sub-Commander and started to walk towards her commanding officer.

"I'm going to go check on my son. And for your information, I've seen scarier stuff in my dreams that would make Stalin squeal, back off." It was a gamble for the elder Ikari, either it would work and he would escape unscathed, or it wouldn't work…

"Okay, go check on Shinji. He's in the testing area. I need to work out some pent up frustrations." She cracked her knuckles. "Oh Sub-Commander!"

From behind Gendo, Fuyutski spoke. "What are you doing? Why are you leaving me alone with her?"

"Two reasons. One, because those who cannot feel the ripples of an angry woman should get punished for not being observant. Two, because you wanted a 'working date' with Misato. She's going to be working out her frustrations, and I'm sure you'll enjoy eating your food out of a tube for a few weeks." He chuckled as he pressed the Escape button and was soon gone in a puff of smoke.

"Oh there you are…"

"Mommy…"

----------

"Shinji, good to see you are awake!" The boy's father reached down and brought his son into a huge bear hug.

"Um, Commander…I think you need to let go. He needs air. Besides, I don't think anyone is quite used to you being so…nice yet."

'Something about him isn't quite…right.' Shinji thought as he regained full consciousness and managed to smile softly. "Hi, Father." A weird emotion came to mind when he said it. Before the accident it had been hate, plain simple hate. Now those emotions were still there, but there was also a feeling of care. 'That's just weird. What ring of hell did I fall into?'

"Mirror. Want to see." Shinji laboriously told everyone to move away from the mirror. What he saw completely shocked him.

He looked older, not much, maybe a year or two. He had more muscle tone and definitely thinned out. He had red eyes, but apart from that and a light indentation on the left side of his face, it was he his normal face. What struck him the most was his hair. Most of it was black, but there was a single silver streak running back and he assumed along its entire length to about mid-back. 'No wonder those kids were crying. I feel like crying myself. I look like someone stuck Rei's eyes in my head then thought it would be funny to slap a streak of silver hair in the middle of my head.'

"Why…so hard to move? Talk?" He looked over towards Doctor Akagi who was patiently taking notes and waiting to get the testing underway. She looked towards his father as if the answer were classified.

"He has the right to know."

"Shinji." She took her glasses off and set them to the side. "Evidently you merged with another Unit-01 and Shinji Ikari. At least that was the story we told Misato. What we didn't tell you was that you also merged with part of the Angel. According to our psychograph readings, you are alone in your mind. If the Angel were sentient, none of it was passed to you. We don't know quite yet what all of the Angel you have, but we do know that because you are essentially a combination of three single entities that your nerves aren't functioning as well as they used to, and your brain has to rewire everything. Now that you are fully conscious we can help, but I'm amazed that you are taking this so well." She waited for the teen's response.

Shinji couldn't believe it. He was now part Angel. Part of him told him that he now had a similarity with Rei, but he wasn't sure what to make of that. Before he knew it he blurted. "So I guess I'll be able to fit the plans for Instrumentality better." He then violently coughed and mouthed for water and was quickly given the liquid.

"He knows about that?" Ritsuko was shocked. How had he known about that and still allowed to pilot? Maybe he could be reasoned with to get her in a better position of influence in the scheme of Instrumentality.

"I know…because I stopped it." Shinji wheezed.

"What?" The two senior staff members stared bug-eyed at him.

"I prevented it. Or rather…the future me had…fuzzy memories…but I rejected it…world was…barren afterwards. Father…if you…don't stop it…I will. By now…I'm sure Mom…has told you to stop….don't make me…do what she wants to do to you." He took another drink of water.

'How did he know? It can't be that he actually knows what is going to happen, and how things are going to happen…right? Things are different now that he is here. Things will change.'

"Will you stop?" Shinji stared down his father. The memories of just before, during, and right after Third Impact A/N: Essentially the entire movie "The End of Evangelion" compressed into memory fragments. were flashing in his head. With each memory, he wanted to strike his father. True while deep down for some reason he cared or him, he wanted nothing more than to beat him to a bloody pulp for what he had done. 'Will…could do.' Shinji reminded himself.

"Shinji…It's not that simple."

"Yes it is. Either stop easily, or stop hard. Either way, I will prevent it from happening."

Commander Ikari took a step back. 'He's standing up to me and staring me down…those eyes remind me of Rei…except they have emotion behind them. Hate, determination, and a fear of nothing except what will happen. I won't let him stop my work, even if Yui doesn't…wait a minute…what the hell am I thinking? Yui says not to do it or she'll put me in hell herself. I'm already in deep shit with her as is.' He stepped back forward. "Shinji, you must know that I'm not the top of that pecking order. The orgini—"

"SEELE. I know. You are the most important part. I don't quite understand it all…but…I know this is…paramount. Instrumentality must be stopped."

* * *

"Pilot Soryu. Stand." The door had opened blinding her with light. She obeyed but found that she had little strength. "You are convicted of attempted murder and the attempted destruction of NERV property. The punishment is death which will be carried out immediately." Chairman Keel lowered the sheet of paper and looked straight at the girl. "Unless you take the offer I'm about to give you, in which case, I can offer you the one thing you won't get if you stay here."

Asuka's eyes lifted to him, betraying the fact that the words had hit right where the man wanted them to.

"I can give you your happiness with Shinji Ikari. So long as you do what I say. Now come, and we shall get you started on your path towards happiness." He reached out and soon had the girl's hand in his as they walked out of the cell, and out of the GeoFront unnoticed to everyone.


	11. Chapter 11

**Herald:**_First off...let me just say that I am so sorry for the first part of this chapter. It is purely for fun and I am meaning no disrespect. Its just that it is the result of a conversation I had at work about how women could formally take over the world (I concede that women already rule the world, or should, and I'm a guy). All I can do at this is shake my head and apologize if you don't find it funny. I've found that it has been rather polarizing among the few people I've had read this chapter when I had time (college has been a real...you know...lately).  
_

_Anyway, it looks like this may be the only chapter I'll post for a while. I get back to college Sunday, and I immidiately have a test and a term paper due within a week, then finals a little bit after, so this may be the last chapter I'll post until May, but I will see what I can do (I may have a rush update of several chapters right before I relinquish my campus computer and move off-campus for the summer, if I do, I apologize in advance for the grammer and spelling errors they will have)._

**Now, on with the show! Please put on your slicker and have your umbrellas ready. Commander Ikari's blood has a tendency of not getting out of clothing. **

* * *

"Commander Ikari, relinquish your position as head of NERV right now." The blonde pulled the hammer back on the revolver.

"And what reason should I?" Cool as a cucumber in a freezer, Ikari sat in his seat with his hands up in his patented (and trademarked) pose.

"Because I am on my period, I'm cranky and frankly cause I feel like it."

'Shit…good reason. You don't mess with a girl on their period…much less do you ask them to prove it. Best thing to do is to give them what they want, run away for a week or so, and then send a sacrifice made of chocolate.'

"Hey Rits! Have you taken over yet? I want my crack at him, I just started."

'Oh son of a—'

"Commander, I am feeling rather…angry at the moment." Rei stepped into his office.

"Someone please give me a break!"

"Has anyone seen that baka Shinji? I really need to have a male punching bag right now!" Asuka strolled in and added to the sea of estrogen that was already filling the room.

"Now this is just getting ridiculous…" Gendo reached down to hit his Escape button when another woman appeared and stopped his hand.

"Now now Gendo…that wouldn't be nice. Besides I have a new item I need to test out and you are my guinea pig honey!" Yui smiled down from above him, holding a cattle prod her other hand.

"I'm dreaming?"

"Yep. And I saw that you've been a very naughty boy as I sifted through your memories, so I called in a few favors."

"Ho ho ho! Merry…" A shot rang out and everyone looked to Gendo, who had magically pulled a shotgun out of his desk.

"Alright, that is where I draw the line. If you are going to beat the living snot out of me, you might as well get started. I won't relinquish my position as Commander."

Every girl in the room smiled and cracked their knuckles. Well…except for Asuka, who was over in the corner trying to peek into the dead man's bag. "You killed Santa you baka!" She said after finding his wallet.

"Well we asked nicely, now its time to take over the world with force." Misato chimed as they all started pounding on him.

-----------------

The Next Morning, NERV HQ Hospital Wing, Room 307

"So Footsie, that was how I ended up with this white shock of hair."

'Footsie' looked on from the bed, unable to say much because of his body cast. Although he had to hold back the tremendous amounts of laughter that were welling up inside of him.

'Figures that the one guy on the planet that could destroy everything would be afraid of a little thing like that. I mean what's a little blood and pain every month compared to…well...child…no can't use that…hmm, well I'll think of something….eventually.'

"Did I just hear someone say that a period was nothing?"

Gendo looked up to see Lt. Ibuki at the door. "No, although I bet you five bucks that he might have thought it. He isn't even able to sense when a woman is royally pissed."

"Wow, you'd think for a guy as old and learned as he is, that he would know something about how things work when it comes to women." She bent over and looked into his eyes, the only part visible through the cast except for a tube that supplied him oxygen.

"Yeah. Why are you here though?"

"Oh! Well I need a vacation, and I can't wait. I also need the company jet, 500,000 euros and a booking for a hotel in Switzerland."

He took a moment to look at her, and finally realized that he couldn't tell if she was bluffing or not. "Very well, you get one week. No more, no less. I expect you to be back here ready to work. That means that you can't weigh a ton from all that good food!" He joked.

"Thank you sir!" She happily whistled as she exited the room. When Gendo looked down on his teacher, the question transcended words.

"Oh come on! That was just obvious. Switzerland and that much cash, either she's going there for chocolate or she's going to launch her own company. And she's too young for the latter."

Ibuki was met up with outside by her Sempai, Doctor Akagi, "So…did he give you any trouble?"

"No, although I still don't comprehend what we are doing…"

"That's ok Pinky."  
"What? Besides what are we going to be doing in Switzerland of all places?"

"What we try to do all the time…Try and take over the world!"

--------------

Shinji was oblivious to all that was happening outside his room (next door to 307) as he stared at Rei and held her hand. At first he had been reluctant to do so, but when he had a pang of guilt for not having been there for her.

He had tried to sort out the memories that kept popping up. Finally he had just given up at doing this because there were some that he didn't have a clue were even, he figured that these were just the memories of the Angel that had been partially absorbed into him.

'No one will tell me anything about what happened to Asuka. Rei is still in her coma. Misato's trying her best, but she just isn't the same. Father is even trying, but he just doesn't know how to be there for me. I need to get these things sorted out, but I can't.' He looked out the window to see the storm on the horizon. 'Gonna rain eventually. I'm going to open the window…some fresh air will do us both good.' Shinji sighed as he started to get up and walk slowly towards the orifice and opened it, relishing the burst of air that came in, carrying the smell of ozone from all of the lightning.

"In the face of the storm, I yell despite the wind. Even though my one voice is alone, it still professes my existence, even against that storm." The words came to Shinji's mouth as though they were a reflex. "A shadow. Even in the strongest storm, a shadow will still exist, and make its stand against the light and the evil." He understood the saying now to be that of the 12th angel, the one that was now a small fraction of his own existence.

"It's scary, isn't it?" The voice startled Shinji as his father entered the room. "Come over here and let's talk."

"Actually, I want to sit by Rei. I feel that if she knows I'm close, that maybe…maybe…she'll come back to me." Shinji slowly moved back to his place beside the girl.

"You love her, don't you?"

"I'm pretty sure I do, but then again, which part? Me before the attack? Me after Third Impact? Or me whom is an Angel and is partially related to her."

"You have a good point. Although I am surprised that you know all that you do. Do you know about your mother?"

"How she's inside Unit-01, and that she's been visiting your dreams since about a month ago, yeah. Actually it was the future you that started that one, not me or anyone else." Shinji chuckled at the memory of seeing him talk about what he had asked mother to do. Yawning, Shinji added. "She could come back and kick your butt for real if you ever pissed her off enough. And it wouldn't be just her of the present, but more akin to me."

'I'd be getting punished for things I haven't thought of yet…son of a gun…that's it; I'm siding with Yui and Shinji. At least then even if SEELE succeeds, which I doubt, I won't experience as bad of things as I would with her around.' Gendo shuddered as he imagined what she could do. 'Probably would love to see how long I could go inside a stove before calling for my mommy.'

_'Thanks Gendo, I'll remember that for tonight.'_ Yui's voice chimed into his thoughts, causing him to twitch and groan.

"Something wrong?" Shinji said while his head rested on Rei's chest lightly, listening to her heartbeat.

"Nothing…I think your mother is just angry with me as usual."

"You know, it probably wouldn't hurt if you brought her flowers or something."

'Anything is worth a shot.' "I might just try that Shinji, thank you. And I do mean thank you, for everything that you are doing. You've been more of a son than I ever could have deserved." He moved forward and let his hand rest on his son's shoulder. "You ever need anything; you let me know, ok?"

"Yeah dad, I'll let you know." Shinji let the pain inside fall away and he did something that surprised them both. He stood up and hugged the one man that he had ever hated.

And forgave him.

"Commander! Asuka's been taken from her cell!" Misato rushed in on their tender moment, and both pulled apart for different reasons.

"By who?"/"Asuka?" The two said at the same time.

"Committee Chairman Keel. It seems that she…she has joined forces with them, being promised Shinji's love in return." Misato looked down to see that Shinji was starting to tear up.

"Shinji, tell me now what you did." Gendo stared at his son, wanting to just rip the truth out of him. This was very bad. Asuka had working knowledge of everything about NERV HQ, and all of Tokyo-3's layout. She could betray and defeat them easily if she had determined support behind her.

"I was joking about rethinking my thoughts of love for her…I swear…I need…both of them…" Shinji feel to his knees, tears starting to flow freely. "Now more than ever I need both of them…I'm trying to survive, but it's just not working…please," His eyes came up and burned into his father's soul. "Get her back. Get me back my girlfriends!"

"Shinji?" The voice was weak, but everyone turned to its source.

Rei Ayanami, pilot of Unit-00, genetic construct of Lillith and Yui Ikari, looked at them wearily from her bed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Herald:** Ok, I'm a bad bad boy I know...I forgot all about this project and now its fall...and college...sigh wonderful. Anyway I'm proud to present the 12th chapter of my story (I had this almost finished before...heh). I'll try to work on this one some, but don't expect absolute progress...sorry. I'm very very busy anymore (12 credit hours of upper level classes, and 18.5 hours of work on campus leaves me pretty much bushed every night).

* * *

Shinji was finally asleep after having been polarized between a sobbing mess and a joyous madman. Rei was finally out of her coma, but the cost of this was great to Shinji. He had lost Asuka.

One leg was restored while the other was knocked out from under him, bringing him back to his knees. He finally had to be sedated because of the rapid emotional changes and their effects on his blood pressure and heart rate.

Rei lay there, staring out the open window and breathed deeply the ozone filled air. 'How is this world different from the one I just left? There is no Kaoru, but there is a boy named Shinji.' She looked over at him and immediately felt two emotions: revulsion and love. Revulsion because of his look. He looked like he was a demon, especially with the unkempt condition of his hair. The emotion of love was what hit her the worst. She didn't know why she felt that way for him, who he was, or even what she was in this world, but she knew she felt for him.

Worst of all was what hit her next, the fear of having this boy whom she loved turn out to be nothing more than a demon, intent on killing her. Adding to this was the storm itself. Almost constant lightning and high winds were pushing through the sound of the torrential rains. The above ground hospital was purposely here for this fact. The storms of the Post-Second Impact world seemed to almost have a quality of healing about them. It was almost as though some higher entity took pity on the world and tried to heal it through the roving cyclones.

"God's in His heaven, all is right with the world." The commander stated from his position in the shadows, adding to Rei's fear. "To think that man is watched over by someone is foolish. The Angels are proof of that. Man can only rely on his own strength, and no other. Although people say that they have faith, that they want to go to heaven, many deep down don't feel that way and run from what they don't understand."

Rei turned her head to face him. "Then why do they want to attain Instrumentality? What does SEELE have to gain?" The memories of this man and the mission he stood for were fresh in her mind from her eavesdropping of the crisis talk surrounding the disappearance of this Soryu girl.

"There are some things I don't even know. SEELE has reasons that I was never curious about. Why should I care about them when I was so focused on my own goal?"

The bed bound girl had to give him that. Focusing on one point made it impossible to view what was happening far away.

"Tell me. How long have I been unconscious? What have I missed in that time? Who am I?" The last question seemed to hit the man in the gut, knocking the air out of him.

"You have been unconscious for…" He shook his head. "I can't remember. Shinji was out two weeks, and you were out a little while before that." He sighed and started to rub his temples. "You…have missed a great deal. Shinji…merged with a future version of himself, and a part of the 12th Angel which had enveloped him. This has created a new Shinji, different and superior to the one before the attack of the twelfth, but as you have shown yourself, scarier and more misunderstood."

"As for whom you are…." He took a moment and tried to filter through the information in his head. "All you need to know is that Shinji loves you. That is something you are required to know. Especially because of what will be coming."

"What do you mean?"

"SEELE has taken one of our pilots. Luckily they don't have their hands on Unit-02, but that doesn't matter because we are essentially defenseless with you two in the hospital. If they are going to strike, it will coincide with an Angel attack, and it will be a hard strike in order to destroy us all. Thankfully, I hold the key in the palm of my hand to keep Third Impact from happening, and SEELE is completely unawares." He held up his hand and stared at it, while the lightning revealed the beast that was inhabiting it. "I have thought about destroying it…preventing any chance of Third Impact, but….I would have to destroy my hand and give up on being with Yui." He looked down, losing himself in his own thoughts.

'Such a dark version of the other world…which one is real?' Rei silently remarked. Both worlds held a chance at happiness, and each had those that were there saying that they loved her. For some reason this tore her up the most. The emotion of love seemingly was something that this body must not have ever experienced. 'Love…war is hell, and love is worse than war. Sure the windfalls can be great, but the moment you fall out of love or go against those you love, it can be life scarring.' A philosophical part of her jumped up and answered the questions of what her views on love were.

"What drove Asuka away, I wonder?"

"She ran away…cause of me." Another lighting bolt revealed the red pupils of the teen sitting in the bed next to her. She jumped at the image, but told herself that everything would be okay and settled down with almost inhuman calmness. "I said something stupid in our last battle, and she thought that I was going to leave her to be with you."

"But according to your father you love me…" Rei was confused, she was told that this boy loved her, but at the same time it was obvious that he was heartbroken over this other girl. She also held feelings for the name, but could not recall an image; they were weaker than her feelings for her boyfriend, but…

'Wait a minute…boyfriend?'

"We don't know how much time we have to prepare for the battle that will come. I'm going to get the nurses to evaluate you. We'll need to do some tests to see if either of you can still pilot." The elder Ikari rose from his chair, bones creaking, adding an eerie sound to the storm outside, and walked quietly out the door.

"Pilot what?" Rei honestly asked.

Shinji could only stare as he wondered where to start. "Damn…what a day…" He mumbled before he started telling her entire life story from memory. Rei's mouth almost instantly dropped and stayed there until Shinji mentioned the name from her other world.

"Tabris, also known as Kaoru. He's the 17th Angel."

This was the last thing Shinji said before he fell unconscious and found incased into the far wall of the room several minutes later.

Rei was no where to be seen.


End file.
